This is an information that might well light up a new scandal regarding working conditions and environment in China. According to reports, 62 employees working in electronic device assembling lines for Wintek have been heavily poisoned. While it took place during last summer, the information has only been revealed recently (meaning officially confirmed by Chinese government-controlled media), and 41 of those workers are still in hospital suffering from neurologic disorders. They suffer mostly from nerve and muscle damages after working with the toxic solvent, hexane, used to clean component touchscreens for electronic products, including iPhones and the new iPad.
The MSDS for hexane indicates that one should work in ventilated environment and with personal protection equipments. Those are probably conditions that those workers could not get access to. Again such information, coming after previous reports of abusing working environment at Foxconn, another important company working for Apple, might question procedures and policies followed by such contractors, and put pressure on Apple to more carefully review working conditions in such companies...
