🧵 In 2020, I nearly died from mysterious industrial chemical exposure at my apartment. Later, I discovered my employer was dumping toxic waste into our windows from their Skunkworks semiconductor fab next-door. I tipped off US EPA, who then raided them in 2023. EPA sent me the report on Friday. 💀 ⬇️
US EPA Enforcement & Compliance conducted 3 onsite inspections of Apple's fab facility in 8/2023 + 1/2024. US EPA noted at least *19* potential violations of the RCRA hazardous waste statute. Read the report:
via Proton drive.proton.me/urls/KPZ6E31...
or via Dropbox www.dropbox.com/home/Apple_I...
After discovering what Apple did, I then spent three months requesting records & digging through regulatory filings to learn more - which then led me to file a complaint to US EPA in June 2023.
I met with EPA investigators, answered questions, & sent them everything I gathered.
I told US EPA I didn't want my whistleblowing about the fab to be anonymous, and instead, that if EPA shows up onsite to inspect the plant, when they do, please have the EPA cops tell Apple: "Ashley says hi."
It looks like EPA did what I asked. 🔥
The inspection was supposed to be unannounced so EPA surprises the inspected party who has no chance to cover up issues before EPA gets inside. However city HazMat tipped off Apple & EPA was greeted by Apple's EH&S team. Note: what EPA found was AFTER Apple had time to clean up.
TLDR; EPA discovered that Apple was:
- illegally treating hazardous waste
- illegally transporting hazardous waste
- illegally dumping hazardous waste into the ambient air outside the facility (into the apartment windows)
- leaving stockpiles of chemicals unattended on weekends
Illegal treatment: Apple set up a 1700 gallon aboveground chemical storage tank to treat their ignitable solvent waste. The chemicals are clearly haz waste. The tank was even marked haz waste. But Apple had no permits for it because they unilaterally declared it wasn't haz waste.
But Apple's potential felonies did not stop there! Apple also decided to transport the illegally treated haz waste (which Apple claimed was never haz waste) to a disposal facility still claiming it wasn't haz waste (even though it was). In 2021 the same waste stream included NMP.
This same solvent waste storage tank full of env crimes also featured illegal emissions too! The solvent VOC air emissions from the tank & all of the facility's solvent exhaust was collected in a mainline & dumped into the air on the roof, without a permit, & probably unabated.
Because Apple wasn't monitoring its solvent emissions, & had no permit, its unclear just how much toxic waste Apple dumped into our bedrooms. Also, it gets worse. Between 2020-23, Apple did monitor the air for vapors with an ad hoc, handheld, calibrated gas detector...ONE TIME.
We previously discussed how Apple didn't change its carbon filters for ~5yrs per their manifests; so they were prob useless. EPA also noticed that when Apple started changing filters in 12/2020, Apple claimed solvent drenched charcoal wasn't haz waste, & illegally disposed of it.
We're not done, you guys. There's more! However, if you feel like you just got a strong whiff of Apple's poison gas & you need a moment to catch your breath; I'll just leave this right here as a reminder of how important it is that we protect each other.
Next, EPA discovered that Apple had many smaller nonpermitted tanks of haz waste scattered around the plant; including "highly flammable" & corrosive chemicals. Apple unilaterally declared it wasn't hazardous waste because Apple 1) never analyzed it & 2) did pour water into it.
