Spring, 1997
From Groundwater Clean-up to Sustainability--15 years and Growing
by Leslee Hamilton, Leslie Byster, Frank Schiavo and Paul Burks
Since 1982, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition has worked to ensure that communities, the environment, and workers are not adversely impacted by the rapidly growing electronics industry. In recent years, we've also taken on issues not directly related to high-tech manufacturing. For example, UPSIZE provided a vehicle for environmentalists and community activists to work with labor to secure living wage and "green" jobs after cutbacks in the defense industry. However, at a recent board and staff retreat, we concluded that the best way to leverage our resources is to concentrate on the impacts of high-tech development.
Where it all began
The high-tech electronics revolution in the Santa Clara Valley began less than a generation ago. Intel was formed in 1968, and by 1971, the county once known as the Valley of Hearts Delight earned its distinctive new title -- Silicon Valley.
The electronics industry created a carefully cultivated image that it was the "clean industry". That image belied the fact that electronics manufacturing used enormous amounts of hazardous and toxic chemicals and that the chemicals had serious environmental and occupational health consequences. The truth came home in 1982 after a cluster of birth defects was traced to a leak in Fairchild Semiconductor's underground storage tanks in south San Jose. SVTC was born as a community response to the contamination of local drinking water.
Impact of the industry
The electronics and computer manufacturing industry is the largest manufacturing employer in the United States. Its explosive worldwide growth has resulted in an international annual market for semiconductor chips of over $150 billion. The workforce now numbers over 500,000 workers. The industry has become such an economic giant that it can whipsaw communities by pitting worker against worker, city against city and even country against country and gain huge public subsidies in the process. Because of the widespread use of highly toxic materials in the electronics and computer manufacturing sector, the industrial illness rate among some semiconductor workers is three times higher than in any other manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing by-products and the ultimate disposal of the final product by this industry continue to cause great concern in communities throughout the country, and, indeed, throughout the world. These concerns raise important political, occupational, environmental, technical, and financial issues that must be addressed if this industry is to become truly a ÒsustainableÓ industry. Industry experts predict that the booming international demand for semiconductors will require that as many as 140 new semiconductor factories will be built before the end of the century. The resource implications of this expansion boom pose a staggering threat to communities, workers, and the environment.
Working Locally, Networking Globally
SVTC is in a unique position to act as a watchdog over the evolution of the high-tech industry. We have shadowed the companies in their search for cheap labor and lax environmental regulations. As the high-tech industry expanded and moved out of its birthplace in Silicon Valley, SVTC formed links and networks with other organizations throughout the country, which resulted in the formation of a national network called the Campaign for Responsible Technology (CRT). According to SVTC Executive Director Ted Smith, "Just as the industry's strategic plan for expansion is global, so must be our response." To do this, CRT is working to increase communication among the world's grassroots activists so we can share experiences, technical information, and other ideas to build an effective base and prevent the exploitation of communities around the world. This effort got a major boost at the recent 6th European Work Hazards Conference in Holland when participants endorsed a global Campaign for Responsible Technology.
Through CRT, SVTC is involved with 3 inter-related projects that together are making significant impacts on the electronics industry: EPA's Common Sense Initiative, EPA's Design for the Environment Printed Wiring Board Project, and the Electronics Industry Good Neighbor Campaign. Each project focuses on promoting pollution prevention and corporate accountability within the electronics industry, and each involves many other key community partners.
Locally, SVTC is working to address four critical water issues that are exacerbated by high-tech companies:
1. Massive groundwater contamination that threatens drinking water quality;
2. Overdependence on outside sources to make up for water supply shortfall;
3. Ecosystem degradation in the South Bay from excessive waste water flows; and
4. Contamination of the South Bay from toxic discharges and runoff.
We will release a report with our findings and suggested solutions this spring.
Other problems include chemical releases into the air, occupational injury and exposure, and traffic. Solutions to these problems must be crafted within the framework of maintaining a vibrant and sustainable economy in the South Bay. Because of our long history with the high-tech industry, SVTC is in an excellent position to provide leadership to help develop the solutions.
The board and staff are energized by the retreat and our role as the only local organization and as a part of a growing international network dedicated to holding the electronics industry accountable.
For more information on our projects, please consult our web page: http://www.svtc.org/svtc. We appreciate your support of our efforts and welcome your feedback.
Leslee Hamilton and Leslie Byster are SVTC Staff, Frank Schiavo and Paul Burks are members of SVTC Board of Directors
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