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Chip Manufacturing Shortcuts Harm Our Health And Environment
The passage of the CHIPS and Science Act two years ago marked a significant bipartisan achievement, securing billions of dollars to bring semiconductor production back to the United States. This development was touted as not only boosting the economy and national security but also supporting our fight against climate change. The tiny electronic chips, which convert sunlight into electricity in solar panels, regulate power flow in wind turbines, and manage battery life in electric vehicles, are essential building blocks for a clean energy transition.
Unfortunately, constructing these foundational components can be quite dirty. Potentially exacerbating the issue, Congress recently passed the Building Chips in America Act to exempt many federally funded chip manufacturing projects from the National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA reviews serve as a crucial safeguard for communities, requiring an assessment of potential impacts on local air, water, and wildlife before construction commences.
This lack of oversight is particularly concerning given that organic solvents, acid gases, harmful metals, and PFAS are commonly used in chip production. We need look no further than Silicon Valley to find evidence of the devastating consequences of these practices. As the original home of microchip production, Santa Clara County has an alarming number of Superfund hazardous waste sites.
Years of unclean chip-making processes have harmed not only workers but also nearby residents, as manufacturing waste stored in underground tanks leaked into groundwater supplies. For instance, a cluster of birth defects and miscarriages in a San Jose neighborhood was linked to organic solvent contamination from the local chip plant in the 1980s. Even decades after Silicon Valley’s semiconductor heyday, the process remains far from pristine.
Current U.S. plants release thousands of pounds of chemical compounds into the air annually, including acid gases as well as ammonia, a major driver of particulate pollution affecting lung health. Last year, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality penalized Intel for failing to regulate air emissions of acid gases at its Hillsboro chip production facility.
Facilities also generate immense amounts of solid and liquid waste. The Intel plant in Chandler produced 15,000 tons of waste within the first three months of 2021, over half of which was hazardous.
One particularly troublesome class of chip-making chemicals are per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Well-studied PFAS have been linked to a myriad of health issues, including cancer, thyroid and liver diseases, miscarriages, decreased fertility, and more. There exist no limitations on the release of PFAS from chip manufacturing facilities, nor are there requirements for responsible disposal of PFAS waste.
As several states, such as Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina, prepare to experience significant microchip production booms, they must grapple with PFAS pollution crises that would likely be worsened by expedited projects. In light of this information, it is crucial that lawmakers prioritize community protections and encourage innovation away from the use of harmful chemicals like PFAS.
The United States cannot construct a clean energy future on a contaminated foundation.
Source: http://www.forbes.com
