Spring, 1998
The Emergence of Silicon Dominion: The High-Tech Industry Expands into the Southeast
by Emily Betts
As the electronics industry continues to grow, new regions are becoming hot spots for wafer fabrication "fab" construction. Because of the intense demand manufacturing facilities have on resources, specifically water, "the South and West are almost out of sites", according to the vice president of a large fab design company. "Some states have no sites left" because they are "not willing to commit 1 to 2 million gallons of water per day. Their aquifers cannot take that increased load". Still, the Pacific Rim and the US are the leading areas for new semiconductor facilities.
Nicknamed the, "Silicon Dominion", Virginia is one of these new hot spots for silicon chip production. Landing two major semiconductor manufacturing plants in the last three years, it is just one of a group of southern states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Delware, working to attract the computer industry to fuel their state's economy.
Virginia is a relative newcomer to the semiconductor industry, tempting companies like Motorola and IBM with its work force, infrastructure, and academic institutions. A recent ad in April 1998 Semiconductor International by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership heralded the coming of high-tech companies to the Silicon Dominion. Motorola's plans to build a $3 billion manufacutring complex in Goochland County presents the single largest investment Motorola has made anywhere. The West Creek facility also represents the largest private investment in Virginia's history.
Motorola announced the siting of the West Creek facility in Goochland, Virginia in 1995. Due to slow sales, the facility was put on hold, but is now scheduled to begin construction with a facility twice the size as originally proposed. Dominion Semiconductor, a joint venture between IBM and Toshiba opened in Manassas, and should reach full production later this year. White Oak Semiconductor, a Motorola venture with Germany's AG Siemens, opened in Henrico County last year. The facility is currently in test production.
According to the March 1998 Electronic Business News, the Commonwealth of Virginia approved a multi-million dollar subsidy package for Motorola's West Creek plant including: $65 million if they meet selling targets over the next 5 to 7 years; $10 million for work training; and $5 million to fund the construction of a cleanroom at Virginia Commonwealth University's new engineering school.
Paul J. Shimp, senior vice president for the Semiconductor Product Sector of Motorola in Phoenix, AZ, says that "incentives are important...but most places offer incentives so it's not an overriding factor." (Source: March 1998, Electronic Business News). Virginia also approved similar incentive packages for the IBM-Toshiba plant in Manassas and Motorola and Siemens' White Oak Semiconductor in Richmond.
While state governments are bending over backwards to entice high tech corporations, the hazards of living near a semiconductor manufacturing site have been greatly ignored. Over 700 chemicals, gases, acids, and organic solvents, many of which are toxic, are used to make a computer workstation. In addition, the transportation, storage, occupational exposure, and release of these chemicals into the air and water is a concern often overshadowed by the companies and the state governments.
Virginia's three facilities are in different stages of development, yet there are common concerns about water use, chemical transportation and storage, and increased development. Environmentalists question the effect of wastewaster on rivers and the organisms that inhabit them. Plus, local groups are reporting that both Motorola sites in Virginia are located on or near wetland habitat increasing the risk of contamination.
Currently, activists and environmental groups are meeting to discuss strategies for keeping their communities and resources safe from pollution and degradation. They are distributing fact sheets on toxics to the communities, and planning a public forum and workshops to educate the public on the hazards involved in semiconductor manufacturing. For more information, please call SVTC at (408) 287-6707 or write svtc@igc.org
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