Australian media have reported that they were assembling Apple computers and iPhones and stay in the hospital for several months after being exposed to harmful chemicals.
"At first the symptoms were pretty obvious," one woman said of her reaction to breathing in the chemical, which was used to clean and stick logos on products. "My hands were numb. I could hardly walk or run," she added.
An Australian spokeswoman for the US company told AFP that Apple took workers' health very seriously and conducted audits to check conditions, as well as requiring training in on-site health and safety.
In 2009, dozens of workers at a Suzhou factory managed by a subsidiary of Taiwanese company Wintek became ill from exposure to n-hexane. Wintek subsequently stopped all use of the chemical on its production line.
Labour activists have previously raised concerns about conditions in Chinese factories producing iPhones, arguing that millions of employees endure long hours, low pay and high pressure as they make the smartphones.
Taiwanese firm Foxconn, which makes electronic goods for Apple and other Western technology firms, has seen a spate of suicides at its Chinese plants this year.
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