A Seattle reporter says that Apple actively prevented her
and others from learning the true scope of the safety hazard which causes
iPod batteries to catch fire.
KIRO 7's Amy Clancy claims that her
seven-month search for data was repeatedly frustrated as Apple asked for
Consumer Product Safety Commission reports to be exempted from the Freedom
of Information Act, hiding the news from public view. According to
Apple
Insider her investigation began in November after one iPod shuffle owner was
burned when the battery ignited during a run, burning her where the iPod
was clipped on.
The victim Jamie Balderas, at the time said she had
contacted Apple and provided photos as evidence but was purportedly
dismissed by an AppleCare agent as encountering an "isolated
incident". The mother of a child given a mild burn also says Apple phone
representatives ignored her. While the rest of the world reported iPod
battery files, including one in Japan where the government launched an
official investigation, Apple tried to squash any attempt to make the
problem known in the US.
Balderas was stunned when she requested information
through official channels and found that Apple and the CPSC had been aware
of problems since 2005. The 800-page report had even already pinpointed
the lithium-ion battery packs as the likely causes because of their
occasional tendency to overheat, but despite the evidence, hadn't led to a
mandatory recall. Commission officials had determined that the the scarcity
of incidents had made the risk of any injury, let alone any serious
injuries, "very low."
It also believed that newer batteries weren't shown
vulnerable to the same sort of overheating.
As you would expect Apple is
not saying a word about the hack's claims.