To ‘win the future,’ the U.S. needs a semiconductor industry that learns from the past
"Once again, environmental and labor organizations are pushing for a safer, more worker friendly semiconductor industry."
January 3, 2024
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May 5, 2026
Data Centers Have a PFAS ProblemAdvocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom
“There are over a thousand PFAS applications in the semiconductor supply chain,” says Judith Barish, coalition director of CHIPS Communities United, an NGO arguing for a more responsible semiconductor industry. “They use a lot of PFAS, and there are also few short-term alternatives for it. The US chemical industry is even citing semiconductor production as a reason not to regulate PFAS.”
April 30, 2026
From Taiwan to Phoenix: Corporate Promises Can’t Replace Public Oversight
At the national level there is confusion about tariffs on semiconductors and trade deals with foreign countries. But as Arizona awaits more Taiwanese semiconductor investment, one thing is predictable: endless complaints about the burden of local regulations on Taiwanese companies. But our experience suggests bypassing environmental procedures to fast-track industrial expansion does not eliminate risks—it merely defers them, often at the expense of local ecological stability and the project's own long-term viability.
April 28, 2026
Protect Arizona Water from Intel’s Forever Chemicals
CHIPS Communities United, the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, and nine other community-based organizations sent a letter to the City of Chandler calling for increased monitoring and stricter limits on PFAS to protect public health and downstream communities. The wastewater discharge permit for Intel’s Ocotillo Campus renews every June, but the public has no opportunity to weigh in. The permit allows Intel to release PFAS, also known as toxic “forever chemicals,” into the local sewage, burdening local treatment works and potentially contaminating local waters. Given the size of the Ocotillo Campus (Intel's largest hub in the United States) and the risks associated with PFAS, the groups urge the City of Chandler to develop a comprehensive plan to identify and manage PFAS discharges from Intel’s Ocotillo campus.