Battery Fire Breaks Out in Samsung Factory
First Samsung was rocked by exploding batteries. Now the batteries are catching on fire. That's according to the Fire Department in Tianjin, China, whose account of the fire differs from what the South Korean company is saying.
A fire occurred, both sides agree on that. Samsung SDI spokesman Shin Yong-doo, according to Reuters, says the fire broke out in a part of the facility designated for waste, including faulty batteries. Yong-doo seemed to indicate that the factory was running as normal, and the batteries which caught on fire were far away from production lines.
But on its official Weibo, the Tianjin Fire Department noted that the "material that caught fire was lithium batteries inside the production workshops and some half-finished products." In other words, batteries that were being installed to be shipped. Far from the "minor" fire Samsung indicated, the Wuqing branch noted that they sent out 110 firefighters and 19 trucks to stop the flames.
Luckily, no one was harmed. But this isn't the first problem at Samsung SDI's production plant in Tianjin. A 2012 report by China Labor Watch discussed abusive practices within the company, including a manager who "regularly beat up the contracted workers." Working conditions across Samsung's Chinese plants found unfair overtime charges and long periods of forced standing. Factory workers reported getting either partial or useless safety instructions.
Source: Reuters
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