Environmental, Public Health Groups Urge Biden to Veto Microchip Bill that Threatens Workers and Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Environmental, and public health groups, including the Sierra Club, are urging President Joe Biden to veto a controversial bill that exempts most semiconductor companies applying for federal CHIPS Act funding from having to complete essential environmental reviews, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.

The groups condemn Congress’ passage of the legislation, S.2228, the Building Chips in America Act, over objections of senior House Democrats leading committees that wrote the CHIPS Act and oversee NEPA. Rather than circumventing environmental standards, Congress should implement environmental protections to keep communities and workers safe from the hazardous contaminants used in the semiconductor industry, the groups say.

Semiconductor manufacturing is notorious for its extensive use of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, which have been linked to cancer, reproductive harm, immune system damage and other serious health problems, even at low levels. 

“This bill would remove the last remaining federal lever to assess the impact of massive semiconductor fabs on drinking water, air quality, climate change, and community health,” said Harry Manin, Deputy Legislative Director for Industrial Policy at the national Sierra Club. “Public money should serve a public good, and fenceline communities deserve to know how they’ll be impacted. The White House must veto this bill Speaker Mike Johnson jammed through the House. Preserving the NEPA review process advances transparency, mitigates harm, and enables the Commerce Department to leverage $11 billion in CHIPS Act research and development funds towards innovation that eliminates impacts documented during review.”

Quotes from environmental and public health policy advocates:

“Exempting the semiconductor industry from NEPA is completely unwarranted, especially considering the projected significant increase use of PFAS and other toxic chemicals by the industry and their track record of releasing these dangerous chemicals into the air and water surrounding the facilities,” said Tom Fox, Senior Legislative Counsel at the Center for Environmental Health.  “The bill is based on the false premise that implementation of the CHIPS Act would work better by cutting out community input. Nothing could be further from the truth. Meaningful and early public involvement will result in more resilient projects that better protect workers, fenceline communities and the environment.”

“Environmental review is one of our best ways to stop microchip factories from polluting the environment and harming the health of workers and neighbors,” said Ted Smith, founder of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Coordinator of the International Campaign for Responsible Technology. “With the Passage of the Building Chips In America bill, Congress has eliminated essential environmental oversight that exists to protect workers, their families, and their communities. It is particularly shameful that the semiconductor industry, which fancies itself as the ‘brains’ of the information technology sector, is leading the way to prevent disclosure of essential information that could save lives and protect the environment.”

“Communities across the country continue to pay with our health and tax dollars for pollution from toxic chemicals like PFAS that are widely used in the rapidly growing semiconductor industry. It’s entirely unacceptable to allow taxpayer dollars to be paid out to that billion dollar industry without crucial environmental reviews,” said Liz Hitchcock, director of Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, the federal policy program of Toxic-Free Future. “President Biden should reject S.2228’s sweeping elimination of NEPA’s reasonable safeguards for projects funded by the CHIPS program and veto the bill.”

“While technological advancement is essential, it should not come at the cost of our health and waterways,” said Marc Yaggi, CEO of Waterkeeper Alliance. “If President Biden signs this legislation, it would weaken already inadequate regulations on harmful pollutants like PFAS, putting vulnerable communities at greater risk across the nation.”

"As a champion of working people and a leader in the fight against PFAS, President Biden should  reject this misguided bill," said Arlene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute. "Our communities shouldn't be burdened with toxic water and air in exchange for new jobs. We need a cleaner generation of chipmaking to grow our economy without harming our health and environment."

“While states across the nation are leading the way in banning toxic PFAS chemicals, this legislation would undermine those efforts by prioritizing industry over public health. We should invest in our economic future but not at the expense of communities, especially those at the frontline who are already disproportionately exposed,” said Sarah Doll, national director of Safer States. “We need safer, toxic-free solutions, and it’s time for federal leadership to step up and support them.”

“We urge President Biden to veto this bill. As we move towards a green economy, it is crucial that we simultaneously take proactive steps to protect the environment and the well-being of local communities. Semiconductor facilities are known to use incredible amounts of water, release harmful pollutants like PFAS, and emit toxic air pollutants and greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change,” said Lynn Thorp – National Campaigns Director at Clean Water Action. “By allowing semiconductor facilities to bypass the environmental review process, the Biden Administration would undermine its commitments to safeguarding our drinking water, tackling the climate crisis, and protecting vulnerable frontline communities.”  

“The semiconductor industry says that PFAS – extremely toxic “forever chemicals” – are essential to chip production, but it provides the public with very little information about their use and release into the environment,” said Lenny Siegel, Executive Director of Center for Public Environmental Oversight. “The environmental assessments conducted by the CHIPS Program Office under NEPA provided Americans with essential information about the industry’s use and release of hazardous chemicals and gave us the opportunity to suggest ways to minimize the impact on public health and the environment. Without such review, it will be very difficult to prevent significant increases of PFAS contamination, which poses a persistent risk to millions of Americans."

Background

There are no federal limits on industrial releases of PFAS from semiconductor manufacturing facilities into the air and water. There are also no requirements in place to ensure the proper disposal of PFAS wastes, which raises serious concerns about environmental contamination and public health risks. And, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration acknowledges that its exposure limits are “outdated and inadequate for ensuring protection of worker health.”

Air, soil, and drinking water contamination risks from microchip plants are well known. California’s Santa Clara County – home to Silicon Valley, the birthplace of the semiconductor industry – has more poisoned Superfund sites than any other US county. 

Workers in semiconductor fabrication facilities — in the US and abroad — have suffered adverse health consequences including cancer, miscarriages, and stillbirths, with children of workers suffering from birth defects as a result of workplace exposure to toxic chemicals. 

The air pollution stemming from chip manufacturing has compounded these health issues, creating a public health crisis that cannot be ignored. Expanding these facilities without proper environmental reviews and restrictions on industrial releases of toxic chemicals into the air and water will only make the PFAS contamination crisis worse.