Ever Heard Of Benzene Poisoning? Me Neither. But Samsung And Apple Have.
Our culture is consumed with various devices that somehow magically appear in neat little boxes at the store or at our front door. But guess what? Those devices come at a human cost. Here's just one aspect of that.
FACT CHECK TIME:
1. Ever year in China, over 12 million teens leave home to find work. CNN reports 17 million, though their story focuses on farms, not factories.
2. They're part of 260 million Chinese who must travel far from home just to make a living, CNN reports, citing the China Labour Bulletin.
3. This Fast Company article has a first-person account of days being 8 a.m. to about 9 p.m., not including travel. Global Labour Rights reports long hours and seven-days-a-week work for factory workers. China Labor Watch reports working 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with one day off a month when production is heavy.
4. Benzene causes leukemia. Benzene is a category 1 carcinogen banned in most Western countries for industrial use.
5. The BBC and The Guardian report on n-hexane poisoning.
6. In China, over 200 million people are working in hazardous environments.
7. And much of the factory/benzene stuff is supported in this Guardian article.