Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
🧵 I’m sorry to do this to you, but there’s a Part 2 for the update on semiconductor fab at 3250 Scott!
I waited to share this part because I worried most of you would not be able to handle all of this at once. But you’ve had a week to recover, so let’s dive into how Apple execs are giving themselves bonuses as a reward for illegal dumping!
FYI, Part I: https://mastodon.social/@ashleygjovik/112668309100333232
Part II: ⬇️
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Apple reduced cost by illegally venting toxic waste instead of legally disposing & also got good PR by claiming dumping is "diversion." But how'd Apple stop gov from finding out?
Apple intentionally didn't train any employees on haz waste disposal, but did teach PR "crisis mgmt"
Finally Apple also literally put Apple Global Security in charge of haz waste disposal & spills.
Yes the Worldwide Loyalty team was in charge of exhaust. https://gizmodo.com/apple-gestapo-how-apple-hunts-down-leaks-5427058
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Ok, we’ve established:
- Apple admits every year it exhausts 7-17 tons of toxic gases from 3250 Scott into outdoor air
-EPA found Apple didn't have permits for most emissions (so illegal dumping in the air)
- Apple's has hundreds of thousands of pounds of missing hazardous waste
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
So, we have evidence of emissions, violations, missing waste, unmonitored exhaust, & an incentive to "disappear" hazardous waste on site
Also in Apple's 2023 10K filing Apple complained that compliance with env laws is "onerous & expensive" & it harms Apple to follow env laws.
Apple also set industry standards for chemical use, including banning a number of chemicals from their supply chain. Meanwhile, Apple vented the same banned chemicals into my bedroom (NMP, Toluene, Hexane, Benzene, etc.)
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
In 2021, Apple launched a new executive compensation program where Apple execs get more money if it looks like Apple's being environmentally responsible. Progress on Zero Waste gives the execs more money! Apple is dumping to get to Zero. Apple is giving execs bonuses for dumping.
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Around 2019, Apple launched a new initiative they called “Zero Waste.” Apple proclaimed it'll reduce the amount of haz waste it sends to landfills (TSDFs) to 0.
Apple began reporting a new metric: % of waste “diverted” from landfills.
You can probably see where this is going.
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Look at Apple’s global & 3250 Scott waste output, & consider time timing of “Zero Waste”
Starting in 2019 there was a dramatic decrease in the amount of haz waste sent to landfills. In 2020, 3250 Scott reduced its legal hazardous waste disposal by -229%
Where did that waste go?
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Apple keeps saying they are “diverting” waste from landfills. However, diversion means waste was sent somewhere, just not a landfill. For haz waste, a landfill is a registered TSDF.
If Apple is not sending its hazardous waste to a legal TSDF, where is all of that waste going?
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Apple’s annual SEC reports include the quantity of corporate haz waste Apple sends to landfills each year. CalEPA reports on the total amount of haz waste transported from the facility each year. 3250 Scott is the source of ~30% of Apple’s total global corporate hazardous waste.
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Apple wasn't monitoring the amount or contents of its emissions, & had no permits for its exhaust. So Apple can't know what was being dumped into the air. However, Apple guessed that after the charcoal, it vented at least 7000 – 16000 kg of chemical vapors into the air EACH YEAR.
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
The efficacy of Apple's charcoal filters is an open question.
Apple didn't change the filters for 5 years between 2015-2020, so they probably didn't work at all by 2020. (think about not changing the filter in your water pitcher for five years)
But even after replacing the filters Apple never tested them, & apparently simply guesstimated that the system should remove between 50-90% of chemical vapors, maybe.
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
Ok, so that is just the background. Yes, I haven’t even started telling you the really bad part yet.
If you need to take a breath first, here's a video of Apple Computer in its natural form... ⬇️
Ashley M. Gjøvik, JD
EPA's report explained Apple is exhausting its fab emissions into the outdoor air. The only abatement technology Apple used was 2 activated charcoal boxes for the entire factory (no scrubbers), & Apple never evaluated it to determine if it would actually neutralize the chemicals.
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