14 DAY TRIAL // A media outlet has conducted interviews with injured workers from two iPad polishing factories that exploded last year in China, revealing that Apple may have not done everything in its power to prevent the second blast.
He Wenwen, who worked at the Pegatron factory in Shanghai, told NPR "We wore face masks, very thick masks," He says. "But when we took them off, our nostrils were full of dust. The air in the factory looked a bit like fog."
Zhang Qing, who also worked in the Shanghai factory, explained that Apple had inspected the plant just hours before the blast:
Qing said employees were never told about the explosion in Chengdu, which had occurred in May 2011 at a Foxconn plant that also polished iPad casings.
In fact, Qing said they didn’t even know the dust was combustible.
He added that their managers told them to clean up the dust on the day of the Shanghai blast because Apple inspectors were about to pay them a visit.
Another injured worker, Liu Hengchao, said of the Apple inspectors:
“They wore white gloves to check if there was dust. There certainly has to be dust.”
Pegatron management allegedly told Liu and his fellow workers not to talk to the Apple inspectors.
Liu said that if he’d been allowed to speak, he would have told the inspectors that “They could improve the environment somewhat, because the environment is too terrible.”
The Apple inspectors reportedly spent just 10 minutes examining the area.
The aforementioned He Wenwen describes the incident, which reportedly occurred just hours after the Apple inspectors left the factory:
“I saw a fireball coming towards me… I lost consciousness for a few seconds… Later, when I opened my eyes, I saw dense smoke and fire everywhere. I felt scared, really scared. I could hear people crying and screaming.”
Apple reached out to the workers to check on their well-being only after being contacted by NPR for inquiry on the workers’ claims.
Apple also checked to see if the workers had received their $800 in compensation.