Following Apple’s announcements about donating over 9 million N95 masks to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, a clear question arises at this moment: why does Apple have so many masks? It turns out the answer is quite simple. They did so to comply with a state regulation enacted last year, aimed at protecting employees from toxic smoke from wildfires in California.
CNBC reported on Wednesday that leaders from both Apple and Facebook (which also contributed 700,000 masks, although not all were N95) confirmed that they had stored these masks in warehouses due to the wildfires in California in 2019, which prompted the state government to enact a law requiring companies to do so.
In 2019, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board passed a regulation requiring employers to provide respiratory protection equipment, including N95 masks, for workers when the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches hazardous levels.
“Surgical masks or items worn around the nose and mouth, such as scarves, t-shirts, and bandanas, will not protect against smoke from wildfires.” The regulation states. “N95 respirators, as shown in the image below, are the minimum protective layer against wildfire smoke.”
However, with Apple’s headquarters at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, capable of housing up to 12,000 employees, it is unclear why Apple needs to store 9 million masks. Apple representatives did not respond to requests for comment on this matter.
During the 2019 wildfire season in California, there were over 7,860 different wildfires, burning a total of more than 1 million square kilometers of forest.
Apple Continues to Donate Masks to Healthcare Workers
Masks have been in short supply globally since the outbreak of the coronavirus, and healthcare workers are in dire need of these supplies to care for the sick. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced on Tuesday that Apple had donated 9 million N95 masks.
Mr. Pence stated: “Apple has taken stock from their inventory and donated 9 million N95 masks to healthcare facilities across the country and to the national stockpile. As far as I know, this generosity is inspiring the President and truly inspiring all of us who are working for the White House’s coronavirus task force.”
Last Saturday, Apple also donated 2 million industrial-grade masks to assist healthcare workers. Mr. Cook confirmed this on Twitter after the company had been working to source masks for healthcare workers in the U.S. and Europe.
On the same day, Mr. Pence called on companies to join in with more material donation efforts. He expressed optimism about the supply of masks and mentioned that apparel manufacturer Hanesbrands is adding more mask production lines to its factories.
“This is a great time to go to your warehouse, and if you have N95 masks, whether you have 100 or 10,000 of those masks, pack them up and deliver them to your local hospital.” Mr. Pence stated on March 21. To date, the world has recorded 454,000 cases of coronavirus with over 20,500 deaths. In the U.S., there are over 61,100 confirmed cases and about 850 deaths.
Source: Cult of Mac