Apple supplier Foxconn Electronics is reportedly considering legal action against U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail over claims that cleaning agents used in Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory may be to blame for multiple Foxconn employees developing leukaemia.
In its recent report, The Daily Mail says that Apple is investigating Foxconn after a cluster of leukaemia-related deaths among young workers at Foxconn.
At least 13 workers in their late teens and early 20s have been diagnosed with leukaemia at the factory since 2010. Five of these employees have since died, with families and a labour welfare group claiming the disease was caused by exposure to dangerous chemicals used to clean electrical panels.
Workers who fall sick are allegedly dismissed from work and denied continuing medical coverage.
Apple has said it is taking the allegations “very seriously” and is looking into the issue.
Foxconn for its part has demanded that The Daily Mail present evidence of its claim within one week. Furthermore it claims that there are factual details in the reporting, and that none of the employees with leukaemia worked with the dangerous chemical it is claimed they did.
Foxconn also cites figures saying that leukaemia is one of the top-10 causes of death in China, and is the top cause of death for children and people below the age of 35.
Since a company of Foxconn’s size should expect to have between 5-10 leukemia patients each year on average, the company is arguing that its 13 total cases from 2007-2014 is actually lower than the potential incidence rate according to national statistics.
Tim Cook has focused heavily on improving worker conditions in Apple’s supply chain during his time as CEO at Apple.
Foxconn recently announced record-breaking consolidated revenues of $131.82 billion for last year, while company chairman Terry Gou notes that he expects this year’s earnings to be even better thanks to the manufacturer scoring the bulk of iPhone 6 orders from Apple.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
4 responses to “Apple supplier threatens to sue newspaper over cancerous chemicals claim”
Ah the Daily Mail, UK’s printed version of Fox News, and widely regarded as a national joke or ‘The Daily Fail’. No surprise to hear that they have printed a storey full of factual inaccuracies. Now factual accuracy, that would have been a shocker.
Not to sound insensitive, but Leukemia can occur w/o evil intent or chemicals.. it does happen naturally, and Foxconn does employe millions of people each year on and off.. Hundreds of thousands show up just for Apple assembly plants every summer. So 13 people over a few years, out of millions of people, statistically, is not exactly out of the normal ball park..
Sounds like someone is ‘building’ a hot story for press. Not that Foxconn is perfect.. by any means.. Just saying media is not guiltless in wanting to create news these days.
Every year, Apple removes more and more dangerous chemicals from the phone and computers; every year they place stricter guidelines on suppliers and release open reports about the conditions of factories which are not under their direct control, reports good or bad that are shown to the world.
It’s never enough.
Don’t get me wrong, tragedies to occur here. But these articles seem to use Apple to get the one up, putting more pressure on Apple, which is good, but it’s already LEADING the industry in honest practices from both themselves and their suppliers. We need focus on everyone else, at this point.
It’s unfortunate that other companies are not singled out as well – because not only can Apple only do so much themselves, it lets everyone else off the hook (Dell, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, the list is huge). Foxconn is perceived Apple, and the parts that Apple has influence on are top notch and well scrutinized, but Apple is not Foxconn. If everyone else put in as much care, Foxconn and the many other manufacturers there wouldn’t have the ability to dodge bullets and the benefit could potentially spread to other fields of work (Textiles, Mining, etc).
The only thing you need to know about this story is that the report was in the Daily Mail.
If the Daily Mail reports that water is wet, you should be suspicious.