Whistleblower claims to have nearly died because of illegal chemical exposure from Apple
An ex-employee has accused Apple of exposing her to gaseous organic chemicals from a secret chip fabrication plant located near her home.
Apple's Santa Clara operation was visited by the EPA (Source: Apple Maps)
Apple fired whistleblower Ashley Gjovik in September 2021, accusing her of leaking its intellectual property. At the time, Gjovik claimed that this was the result of retaliation by Apple against people who had spoken out in the #AppleToo movement.
Also in 2021, she claimed that the Apple building where her office was situated, was built on a Superfund site. This is a previously-contaminated area, and Gjovik reported Apple to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Now in a separate case, Gjovik has said on Mastodon that she has a copy of an EPA report concerning an investigation into a tip-off regarding Apple.
"In 2020, I nearly died from mysterious industrial chemical exposure at my apartment," she wrote on Mastodon. "Later, in 2023, I discovered my employer was dumping toxic waste into the apartment windows from their Skunkworks semiconductor fab next-door."
Gjovik's post includes an annotated map showing how close her former apartment was to what she claimed was Apple's silicon fabrication operation.
"I tipped off the US EPA, who sent their env cops to raid Apple's plant in Aug of 2023," she continued. "The US EPA finally released the report of their enforcement inspections & sent me a copy on Friday."
That report and associated documentation is available, bar multiple redactions, through Gjovik's Dropbox account.
This EPA report includes descriptions of 19 potential violations of regulations by Apple at this site in Santa Clara. It appears that the majority of issues found at Apple were regarding the correct labeling and dating of items.
The most serious appears to concern a 1,700 gallon CRA hazardous waste solvent tank which was not being tracked appropriately by the relevant Resource Conservation and Recovery Act procedures.
That potential violation and a series of further ones are marked in the report as having been complied with since the inspection. About half of the potential violations are listed as "still outstanding," however.
Separately, Gjovik has previously said that despite how she was treated by the company, she would still return to Apple if asked.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Gj%C3%B8vik
Buuuuut… saying that Apple was
That seems pretty damned far fetched to me.
"She alleges her firing was retaliation for speaking out against the company about sexism, employee privacy, and vapor intrusion at a Sunnyvale, California Apple office on a Superfund site, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency concluded was not occurring."
I always wondered what life was like waking up every morning feeling like a victim, and inventing things to complain about.
I'm sure there's some level of truth to some of her claims, but wow... what is next in her rampage? That the socks she bought are making her ears itch?
From her wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Gjøvik) with the sources:
Ashley Gjøvik (born 1985 or 1986) is an American program manager who is known for filing more than a dozen legal complaints against her former employer, Apple Inc. Notable complaints include a dismissed whistleblower complaint
https://www.oalj.dol.gov/DECISIONS/ALJ/CER/2024/Gjovik_v_APPLE_INC_2024CER00001_(JAN_19_2024)_123139_ORDER_PD.PDF
She claimed:
...vapor intrusion at a Sunnyvale, California Apple office on a Superfund site, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency concluded was not occurring.
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/100034523.pdf
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/100025885.pdf
In 2020, Gjøvik wrote an essay for the San Francisco Bay View about a mystery illness she said she experienced while living in a Santa Clara, California apartment complex on a Superfund site. She attributed her symptoms to exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ground through a process called vapor intrusion. https://sfbayview.com/2021/03/i-thought-i-was-dying-my-apartment-was-built-on-toxic-waste/ https://web.archive.org/web/20211215171510/https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2021/12/apple-poisoned-me-physically-mentally-spiritually/
In 2023, Gjøvik filed a 650-page lawsuit against Apple alleging Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations and whistleblower retaliation. The majority of the lawsuit was dismissed in May 2024; the whistleblower, RICO, and Sunnyvale Superfund claims with prejudice.
https://casetext.com/case/gjovik-v-apple-inc-1
It's not a silicon chip fab:
Aria is the code name for a research and development facility at 3250 Scott Blvd in Santa Clara linked to the Apple car project. Apple develops microLED screens at the facility. https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/04/11/zeus-medusa-pegasus-athena-inside-apples.html https://www.siliconvalley.com/2018/03/19/apple-secretly-developing-screens-in-unmarked-santa-clara-facility-report/
From HN:
"I live near Santa Clara area so I scanned the EPA report. It mentioned improperly covered activated charcoal and possible improper storage of chemicals, but no mention of releasing solvent vapor in open air. Apple absolutely should be held at higher standard especially operating near residential and school areas, but in this case it looks like a disgruntled ex employee trying to settle a score. I don't think this belongs on HN."
I hope she gets the help she needs.
Apple buys most of its SoC chips from TSMC. In the past, Apple has purchased processors from Samsung, Intel, Motorola and maybe a few others. Memory chips from the usual suspects. Back years ago, Marvell, AMD and Avaya may have manufactured some of their own chips (they have a presence in Santa Clara).
In other parts of the USA, both GE and NCR have been forced to clean up major contamination from many decades ago, when dumping PCBs and other dangerous chemicals was very common.
i'd take any social media comments with a full cup of Morton's salt, doubly so with Mastodon or Truth (Anti)social.
1. Apple dumped toxic waste into my windows.
2. I nearly died.
3. I would still return to Apple if asked.
File this under "How not to demolish your own credibility".