It has become clear that Apple built a secret silicon testing facility in a residential area and illegally disposed of waste … – GIGAZINE（ギガジン）
Ashley M. Jovic, who was exposed to a mysterious industrial chemical at her home in 2020 and was in dire straits for life, reported the incident to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which investigated the matter and discovered that the cause was chemicals released from a top-secret silicon testing facility built by Apple next to her home.
Thread by @ashleygjovik on Thread Reader App – Thread Reader App
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1805006150410162322.html
Apple's Secret Silicon Fab at 3250 Scott Blvd – Ashley M. Gjovik
https://www.ashleygjovik.com/3250scott.html
In 2020, Jovic moved to an apartment in Santa Clara, California, where he was exposed to industrial chemicals and became seriously ill at home. He then discovered that there was an Apple office next to his house, and after investigating the office, city records revealed that Apple was manufacturing semiconductors there.
If you're new to this part of the party: earlier this year I discovered that across the street from the Santa Clara apartment I moved into & got super sick, is an Apple office where per city records, Apple's clearly doing semiconductor manufacturing & venting solvents at the homes pic.twitter.com/PNp5QjcHvk
Below are architectural plans for Apple's Santa Clara office that Jovic found among documents released by the city.
I just got ahold of Apple's building plans they submitted to the city for their renovations to turn this existing semiconductor shop into something resembling an alien battleship. pic.twitter.com/jFYIs4jkZx
According to the architectural plans, a research lab is set up in one corner of the office, including a ‘corrosive gas storage facility’ and an ‘acid wet laboratory.’
Here's Apple's SB01 occupancy plan. It includes labs for:
– Bake out 'wet'
– Corrosive gas bunker
– 'Acid wet'
– etc
You enter offices from the north. To enter the silicon fab clean rooms, you walk through a 'gown' area where they assumably put on bunny suits
Sounds residential pic.twitter.com/l9QelgpP34
And ‘corrosive gas storage’ and ‘acid wet laboratories’ were located within striking distance of thousands of homes.
A 327 sqft 'corrosive gas bunker' and 351 sqft 'acid wet' lab sounds exactly like something you want to have a stone's throw from thousands of homes. pic.twitter.com/WPqHRvjc4u
Although the building plans detailed these facilities, they never explained their existence in real life. However, satellite images showed features that could be seen in the ‘corrosive gas storage facility’ and ‘acid wet laboratory,’ including ‘acid waste tanks’ and ‘acid neutralization pits.’
Apple's updated diagrams, & the satellite view, replace the acid tanks & pits with a very consistently unlabeled little thingamajig here that I'm gonna guess is the 'acid neutralization system' they have building permits for
I wonder what those two exterior exhaust vents do pic.twitter.com/mZJZEaTU5s
Jovic pointed out that Apple is evading regulations by installing these facilities in locations that cannot be seen from the outside. After summarizing these findings, Jovic reported them to the EPA. The EPA's Enforcement and Compliance Division conducted a total of three on-site inspections of Apple's manufacturing facilities in August 2023 and January 2024. As a result, the EPA summarized in its investigation report that Apple has committed at least 19 violations ofRCRA , a waste management law in the United States.
🧵In 2020, I nearly died from mysterious industrial chemical exposure at my home. Later I discovered my employer was dumping toxic waste into our windows from their Skunkworks semiconductor fab next-door. I tipped off EPA, who raided them in 2023. EPA just sent me the report 💀⬇ pic.twitter.com/25C1Yz0ogK
According to the investigation report, the EPA's inspection was originally meant to be unannounced to give Apple no opportunity to conceal its facilities, but the city's hazardous materials department provided information to Apple, so the EPA's visit to Apple's offices was met by members of the company's environmental, health and safety team.
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. pic.twitter.com/5OF7CpmnBS
Nevertheless, the EPA found multiple violations during its inspection of Apple's offices, including ‘illegal disposal of hazardous waste,’ ‘illegal transportation of hazardous waste,’ ‘illegal dumping of hazardous waste into the air outside the facility,’ and ‘unattended chemical stockpiles over weekends.’
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 pic.twitter.com/WxY09O4iXH
For example, Apple has a 1,700-gallon (about 7,700 liters) chemical storage facility above ground to handle flammable solvent waste, but the chemicals stored there are clearly hazardous waste. In fact, although the storage facility is labeled ‘hazardous waste,’ Apple unilaterally declares that ‘what is stored there is not hazardous waste’ and denies handling hazardous waste. Of course, Apple does not have a license to handle hazardous waste.
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. pic.twitter.com/sZAabeeYfU
In addition, the EPA concluded that Apple had illegally disposed of hazardous waste, but Apple continues to insist that the waste it was handling was not hazardous. It has been revealed that the waste that Apple claims was not hazardous contained the organic solvent NMP . Although NMP is said to have low toxicity, it is said that if a certain amount is ingested into the body, it can have adverse effects on the central nervous system, bone marrow, liver, testes, kidneys, and adrenal glands.
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. pic.twitter.com/PM4PhMedGh
It was also revealed that hazardous substances were being illegally discharged from a chemical storage facility at Apple's offices, where volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and solvent exhausts were all being combined and released outdoors without being filtered to remove harmful substances.
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. pic.twitter.com/NyX8VFEfxS
Because Apple did not monitor its solvent emissions or obtain a permit for them, it is unclear how much harmful fumes were released outdoors. To make matters worse, Apple reports that it used a temporary portable calibrated gas detector to monitor the gas in the air ‘only once’ between 2020 and 2023.
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. pic.twitter.com/SVwjVP1T3a
It was also revealed that Apple had not replaced carbon filters designed to suppress hazardous waste for five years, rendering the filters completely ineffective. According to the EPA, when Apple replaced the carbon filters in 2020, it claimed that 'solvent-soaked charcoal is not hazardous waste,' and disposed of the waste illegally.
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. pic.twitter.com/8zvXqG1JR4
In addition, the EPA found that Apple had installed numerous small tanks of hazardous waste in its offices without authorization, including tanks containing highly flammable and corrosive chemicals. Apple responded by saying that it had never handled hazardous waste, had only poured water into the tanks, and had never tested them for non-hazardous waste.
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. pic.twitter.com/zmWd1spOxU
In addition, EPA inspectors found containers of corrosive liquid chemicals stored with the caps removed in Apple's chemical storage facility. When the EPA asked, ‘Apple, why are the containers open?’ Apple responded, ‘By opening the caps, the vapors escape and the containers don't explode.’
The US EPA inspector noticed Apple had a 55-gallon container of corrosive liquid chemicals sitting in Apple's ‘Chemical Bunker,’ and the container's cap was removed.
EPA said: Hey Apple, why is that container open?
Apple responded: its open so the vapors vent & it doesn't explode pic.twitter.com/zSLkDqKZCN
Apple's chemical storage facility had 30 containers of corrosive liquids and 12 containers of flammable liquids stacked against the wall, but the labels on the containers were hidden, so the EPA had to investigate them on its own.
Speaking of Apple's Chemical Bunker…when US EPA started looking around, it saw 30 containers of corrosive liquid, & 12 containers of flammable liquids, all ‘stacked against the wall.’ The labels were not visible so EPA had to dig through the jugs to figure out what was there. pic.twitter.com/425JDzqbzJ
The company's offices were open 24/7, but were left unmanned on weekends and there was no proper monitoring of the waste. After Jovic discovered Apple was illegally handling hazardous waste, Apple stopped conducting weekly inspections of its facilities.
If you're thinking, ok that sounds dangerous, but I'm sure Apple was keeping an eye on things…The facility operated 24/7 but only MF. On the weekends it was unattended & they didn't monitor their waste. They also stopped weekly inspections after I learned what they were doing. pic.twitter.com/2Vm0vDxyIJ
It has also been revealed that Apple has been releasing waste emissions from its laboratories into the atmosphere without filtering out harmful substances, and that exhaust from solvent treatment tanks was being released directly into the atmosphere from its offices, though it was passing through untested carbon boxes, without Apple having the proper permits to do so.
Finally lets talk about Apple's factory exhaust. Much of Apple's solvent exhaust was vented out ‘as is’ from the main system. The illegal solvent treatment tank exhaust went through untested carbon boxes, but then out a tiny vent pointed *down* at the building. There were no permits. pic.twitter.com/f2TsW0Vz2w
In addition, Mr. Jovic has made the investigation report sent by the EPA available to the public, which can be viewed below.
US EPA Enforcement & Compliance conducted three onsite inspections of Apple's fab facility on August 8, 2023 and January 1, 2024. The US EPA noted at least 19 potential violations of the RCRA hazardous waste statute.
I just posted the US EPA's report for public access. Dropbox link: https://t.co/ocZi23fx47
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