Dust explosion at Chinese polishing plant may delay iPhone 6 release date

The New York Post reported Monday morning August 4th, of a dust explosion occurred the previous Saturday at a General Motors metal polishing plant in China. The incident occurred at a hub cap factory in Kunshan, where 75 workers were killed and 186 were left injured, following the ignition of flammable metal polishing dusts.

The tragedy triggered immediate action of the State Administration of Work Safety, which halted activity in all polishing plants, including Foxconn, a major supplier of Apple components.

At the time of the incident, the number of workers present at the plant was well above the norm, as overtime wages were increased to push production.

Depending on Foxconn’s ability to resume operations, pending government approval, Apple is likely to push back the announcement of the iPhone 6 even further. The company has already announced potential delays, mostly due to production issues pertaining the iPhone 6, as well as the iWatch.

Safety standards have been an issue in China, for the past several years, as companies such as General Motors, Apple, and McDonalds, share multi-tiered supply chains. A similar incident occurred at a Foxconn plant in 2011, in which 16 workers who were manufacturing parts for the iPad 2, were killed by an explosion triggered by the accumulation of metal polishing dusts.

The massive-scale investigation comes at a time of tension in China. The country has been displaying an aggressive and punitive stance in regard to foreign companies, particularly U.S. tech giants, like Microsoft and Apple, over national security concerns.