Long Island Man Spends 10 Days in Hospital After iPhone Explodes in His Pocket

from patch.com "Best of 2015"
A Lindenhurst man recently spent more than a week in the hospital after his iPhone spontaneously exploded in his pocket.

Erik Johnson had reportedly just arrived at his cousin’s wake on Valentine’s Day when his iPhone 5c exploded as he bent down to pick up a set of keys he had dropped.

“I felt the burn instantly and a cloud of smoke instantly,” the 29-year-old told News 12 Long Island. “I couldn’t get the phone out of my pocket, so I had to rip my pants off to get the phone away from me.”

Johnson suffered a third-degree burn the size of a football to to his upper left thigh and spent 10 days in a hospital burn unit. He returned home on Tuesday.

The story was first reported by ABC 7. Johnson told the TV station that he heard a pop and then saw smoke coming from his pocket when he reached down to pick up the keys.

Johnson says his leg caught fire and the intensity of the heat melted his pocket shut.

“A couple of people actually said they could smell my body burning,” Johnson told ABC 7.

Apple says it is investigating the incident. Johnson is planning legal action against the electronics giant.

“Even if this only happened this one time, that’s one time too many,” Johnson’s lawyer, Mike Della, said according to the Daily News. “What if this happened to a child?”

There have been other recent reports of exploding iPhones. In October, an Arizona man claimed his iPhone 6 burst into flames in his pocket following a minor rickshaw accident. Last February, a middle school student in Maine suffered minor injuries after her iPhone 5c exploded in her pocket.

iPad tied to boy's nickel allergy

from cbc.ca
The iPad is a potential source of nickel allergy reactions, say pediatricians who suggest parents choose a metal-free cover for the electronics.

Allergic contact dermatitis is becoming more common in children, especially nickel, dermatologists say. In Monday’s issue of the journal Pediatrics, doctors in the U.S. describe the case of an 11-year-old boy with dermatitis that didn’t respond to standard ointment.

He tested positive in a skin patch test for nickel allergy. At an avoidance counselling session, doctors became aware that the family had bought a first generation iPad in 2010 and that the patient was using it more frequently.

After covering his iPad and avoiding nickel, including through diet, the dermatitis improved significantly for five months, Dr. Sharon Jacob of Loma Linda University in California and Dr. Shehla Admani of the dermatology department at the University of California, San Diego, said.

Allergic reactions to Apple laptops and iPhones have been reported, but the iPad hasn’t come up as a potential source of nickel sensitization in children before, the researchers said.

They suggested patients could reduce contact between skin and devices either by using a case or cover that is nickel-free or simply applying duct tape to create a barrier.

Doctors should also consider "metallic-appearing electronics and personal effects" as potential sources of nickel exposure, Jacob and Admani said.

In 2008, dermatologists warned, people who use their cellphones for long periods may develop a rash on their ears or cheeks.

Apple bows out of program for environment-minded products

from cnet.com
The company's "design direction" is no longer in keeping with the requirements of a major program devoted to the fostering of environmentally responsible electronics, according to a report.

Meh, screw the environment.

Apple has decided to stop participating in a major program devoted to the production of environmentally friendly products, reportedly saying that its design direction is no longer in line with the program's requirements.

Late last month, Apple told the nonprofit EPEAT group  that the company would no longer submit its products for green certification from EPEAT and that it was pulling its currently certified products from the group's registry.

EPEAT , or the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and calls itself "the leading global environmental rating system for electronic products, connecting purchasers to environmentally preferable choices and benefiting producers who demonstrate environmental responsibility and innovation."According to The Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal site, 39 of Apple's products had received EPEAT's green stamp of approval, including laptops such as the MacBook Pro  and the MacBook Air .

The U.S. government requires that 95 percent of its electronics bear the EPEAT seal of approval; large companies such as Ford and Kaiser Permanente require their CIOs to buy from EPEAT-certified firms; and many of the largest universities in the U.S. prefer to buy EPEAT-friendly gear, CIO Journal reports.

Apple "said their design direction was no longer consistent with the EPEAT requirements," CIO Journal quotes EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee as saying. "They were important supporters and we are disappointed that they don't want their products measured by this standard anymore."

Among other things, the EPEAT requirements hold that electronics must be easy to disassemble, so their components can be recycled. The iPhone , the iPad, and the new MacBook Pro with Retina display  don't pass muster because of things like batteries and glass displays that are glued to casings and backings. Apple may soon introduce an alternate green standard to apply to its products, CIO Journal reports.

We've contacted Apple for comment and will update this post if and when we hear back. CIO Journal said Apple had declined to comment but had referred the site to the Environment section of Apple's Web site.

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