A Seattle reporter says that Apple actively prevented her and others from learning the true scope of the safety hazard which causes iPod batteries to catch fire.

KIRO 7's Amy Clancy claims that her seven-month search for data was repeatedly frustrated as Apple asked for Consumer Product Safety Commission reports to be exempted from the Freedom of Information Act, hiding the news from public view. According to Apple Insider her investigation began in November after one iPod shuffle owner was burned when the battery ignited during a run, burning her where the iPod was clipped on.

The victim Jamie Balderas, at the time said she had contacted Apple and provided photos as evidence but was purportedly dismissed by an AppleCare agent as encountering an "isolated incident". The mother of a child given a mild burn also says Apple phone representatives ignored her. While the rest of the world reported iPod battery files, including one in Japan where the government launched an official investigation, Apple tried to squash any attempt to make the problem known in the US.

Balderas was stunned when she requested information through official channels and found that Apple and the CPSC had been aware of problems since 2005. The 800-page report had even already pinpointed the lithium-ion battery packs as the likely causes because of their occasional tendency to overheat, but despite the evidence, hadn't led to a mandatory recall. Commission officials had determined that the the scarcity of incidents had made the risk of any injury, let alone any serious injuries, "very low."

It also believed that newer batteries weren't shown vulnerable to the same sort of overheating.

As you would expect Apple is not saying a word about the hack's claims.