US Environmental Groups and Labor Unions "Information Must Be Transparently Disclosed"
The Biden administration in the United States has secured a large number of semiconductor manufacturing facilities across the country through the Semiconductor Support Act, but environmental groups are strongly opposing the need for thorough environmental impact assessments related to facility construction. While factories have been attracted for geopolitical and economic influence, it is necessary to carefully determine whether harmful substances affecting citizens' health and safety are emitted during the manufacturing process.
Recently, the US IT media outlet The Verge reported that several environmental organizations and labor union coalitions, including the global private environmental movement group Sierra Club, submitted comments to the US Department of Commerce regarding the draft environmental impact assessment investigation for semiconductor companies. The environmental and labor coalition emphasized that they do not intend to block the construction of manufacturing facilities itself but stressed that related information must be transparently disclosed due to past instances in the US where local environments were damaged by harmful substances.
Companies receiving federal funds under the Semiconductor Support Act are subject to the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Based on this, companies have undergone environmental assessments, but the coalition pointed out that the evaluation criteria are opaque and the companies' measures are not specific. There were also criticisms that semiconductor companies do not properly share related information, citing most chemical substances as trade secrets, which increases potential risks.
Chips Community United, an organization formed last year to urge responsible implementation by companies receiving US government support under the Semiconductor Support Act, also submitted comments to the Department of Commerce demanding that semiconductor companies prepare strong environmental impact assessment reports for each project. They emphasize the need for transparency regarding how companies explain and monitor their efforts to manage these issues.
So far, the companies that have submitted environmental impact assessment drafts to the Department of Commerce are US semiconductor companies Micron and Intel, and Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturer). All three companies' drafts concluded that there are no serious environmental problems as long as management is properly conducted.
Renny Siegel, director of the nonprofit environmental organization Center for Public Environmental Oversight (CPEO), said, "Given the scale of the projects, environmental impacts are inevitable," and emphasized, "The draft environmental impact assessments contain assumptions about what will be done to mitigate these impacts, but there is no guarantee that these mitigation efforts will actually be implemented."
The Biden administration enacted the Semiconductor Support Act in 2022, providing $52.7 billion in support for manufacturing facility construction and tax credit benefits for investments in advanced facilities and equipment. Based on this, domestic companies such as Intel, Micron, and GlobalFoundries, as well as foreign semiconductor companies including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and TSMC, are proceeding with the construction of manufacturing facilities in the United States.
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