INTRODUCTION
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Silica and Silicon Chips
Cradle to Grave
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Zack Kahn
Race, Poverty and the Environment
Professor Raquel R. Pinderhughes
Urban Studies Program
San Francisco State University
Spring 2003
Public has permission to use the material herein, but only if
author, course, university and professor are credited
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Silica & Silicon Chips
• This presentation is designed to describe the
cradle to grave lifecycle of silica used in
silicon chips, paying particular attention to
the social, environmental and human health
impacts of the processes associated with
silica and silicon chips.
INTRODUCTION
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Silica & Silicon Chips
production
• In this presentation, you will study:
– Extraction of silica
products
– The production of silicon chips
– Use of the electronics products silicon chips are found in
transportation
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– Transportation involved throughout the entire lifecycle of
silica and silicon chips
– Disposal of these products containing silicon chips after
they are no longer useful
transportation
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CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Either go through the presentation page by page or
use the links in the side bar to jump to various
sections that interest you
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What are silicon chips?
• Also known as: silicon
wafers, integrated circuits,
microchips, or
semiconductors
• Developed in 1958 by John
Kirby of Texas Instruments
to make televisions and
radios smaller and cheaper
by replacing electrical
circuits made from many
separate parts with electrical
circuits made out of one
piece of silicon.
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What have they done?
• “transform[ed] room-sized computers into today’s laptops [and
led] to many other inventions from mobile telephones and bar
code scanners to video games and the Internet” (Chorlton,
2002).
• Click the products button on the left if you want to see more
products made possible by silicon chips.
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What is silica?
• Silicon Dioxide (SiO2)
• A mineral found in quartz,
sand, rock, crystal, flint,
jasper, and opal.
• High quality silica is a
critical component of silicon
chips and is mostly found in
quartz.
• Different from lower grade
silica used in glass bottles,
lubricants for mechanical
tools, concrete and bricks,
and silicone implants
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Why is this presentation
important?
• Economic scale of semiconductor industry: $140
billion in 2000 with an average 16% growth per year
over the past few decades (Williams et al., 2002).
• Horrifying social, environmental, and human health
impacts at almost every level: silica extraction,
silicon chip production, transportation, and disposal
of products containing silicon chips.
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EXTRACTION
• In this section you will study environmental, human
health, and social impacts associated with the mining
and smelting of silica
– Impacts to mine site
– Silicosis
transportation
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– Case Study: Omaruru
• Water
• Smelting
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• Criticism of project
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Mining of silica
• Most mines are opencut as opposed to
underground mines.
Open cut mines involve
digging a pit on the
surface of the earth,
while underground
mines involve
tunneling into the
earth.
An open cut mine.
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Impacts to mine site
• All soil, vegetation, and
rock removed from site
• “drilling and blasting,
loading into trucks with
excavators or large
mechanical shovels and
draglines, and trucking to
surface stockpile areas or
directly to plants (Tasmania
Public Land Use
Commission [TPLUC],
1996).”
• Land becomes useless for
previous users: people,
animals and plants
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Other impacts: silicosis
• “Silicosis is a disabling lung disease caused by
overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. When
workers inhale crystalline silica, the lung tissue reacts
by developing fibrotic nodules around the trapped
silica particles, making it difficult to breathe.
Overexposure to dust that contains microscopic
particles of crystalline silica can cause scar tissue to
form in the lungs, which reduces their ability to
extract oxygen from air breathed.
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Silicosis (1)
• “The effects of continually breathing respirable silica dusts are
both cumulative and progressive. Acute silicosis occurs where
airborne exposures are the highest; symptoms can develop
within a few weeks or months. Development of chronic
silicosis, the most common form, occurs over a period of years
and often goes undetected. As the disease progresses, the
following symptoms may be present: shortness of breath
following physical exertion, severe cough, fatigue, loss of
appetite, chest pains and fever. Silica exposure may also impair
the ability to fight infections, which makes one more susceptible
to certain illnesses, such as tuberculosis.
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Silicosis (2)
• “In December 1996, the International Agency for
Research on Cancer upgraded the classification of
crystalline silica to “carcinogenic to humans” (Group
1) based on a relatively large number of recent
epidemiological studies. This classification is based
on inhalation of dust in the form of quartz or
cristobalite” (Mahoney, 1999).
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Silicosis: whom it affects
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•
Affects not only those who enter the mine site, but those who live and
work near the mine site
•
Worldwide, “more than 1 million workers are exposed to crystalline
silica, which is known to cause silicosis” (Mahoney, 1999).
•
U.S.: More than 250 workers die due to silicosis each year
•
We can assume that because worker safety standards in the United
States are generally higher than those of nations with lower Gross
Domestic Products (GDPs), that the rate of death due to silicosis
among workers is higher in those countries.
•
Approximately 3.4 per 10,000 workers experience respiratory illness
from occupational exposure to dusts, including silica dust. Most are
mining workers.
•
There are many methods for controlling exposure, however, they are
either not implemented or not effective enough since people are still
diagnosed with silicosis
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Case study: Omaruru, Namibia
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Water supply in Omaruru
• The main use for water for the mine will be for
spraying onto mines are stockpiles, which is the
primary method for reducing silica dust that causes
silicosis
• The Omaruru River provides water for the town of
Omaruru and other communities downstream.
• Because water is limited in Omaruru, Namibian
Metals, the company creating the project, is
exploring the option of using sewage water.
• Sewage water contains many disease-spreading
elements, which will further contaminate the ground
water supply that feeds the Omaruru River
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Importance of water (1)
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• Humans rely on it
– Drinking
– Crop irrigation
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– Cooking
– Cleaning
– Livestock
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• Plant & animal habitats rely
on it
• Water is a connected system.
If there is pollution in one
area, it will likely spread to
another area both in surface
water and in underground
aquifers.
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Importance of water (2)
• Decrease in water quality
and quantity lead to many
hardships for people, such
as:
– Having to use water from
distant locations
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– Allowing livestock to die
– Facing poorer nutrition due
to the inability to grow
crops
– Diseases from drinking
contaminated water
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Water contamination from mining
• Siltation of waterways
results from
– Spraying of water onto
mines and stockpiles to
control silica dust
– Erosion of exposed
surfaces
– Pumping of water from
mines
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Acid mine drainage
– Rainwater movement
through stockpiles
• Also, “[a]cid mine drainage results when rain water and
ground water pass[…]through mine workings and
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become acidified due to the leaching of exposed sulfides”
(TPLUC, 1996).
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Smelting
• Extracts the metal from everything that will not be used later in
the production process and happens after mining
• Uses excessive amounts of heat, which in the case of the
Omaruru project will be produced from charcoal.
• To reach Namibian Metals’ goal of 20,000 tons per year of highgrade silicon, the smelter “will require 25,000 tons of charcoal
per annum, which will be produced in retorts [a vessel or
chamber in which ssubstances are distilled or decomposed by
heat (Merriam-Webster, 2002)] supplied by the Belgium
company, Lambiotte” (Graig, 2001).
• Concerns of environmentalists include:
– Environmental soundness of harvesting 400 tons of charcoal and
wood chips from the region on a daily basis over the projected 20year lifetime of the project
– Greenhouse gas emissions from the smelter
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Smelting is power intensive
• With the erection of NamPower’s new N$1 billion 400kV
Interconnector, the Namibian electricity provider was able to
sign an agreement with South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, to
supply Namibia Metals with 38mega-watt for the running of the
smelters. NamPower will supply the two smelters from the
Omaruru substation, which is 3km away from the intended site
(Graig 2001).
• Precise environmental, social, and human health impacts of
“NamPower’s new $1 billion 400kV Interconnector” and
extraction and use of charcoal are not within the scope of this
paper. However, it is known that power plants and electricity
have highly negative impacts on people and the environment
and in this case, Namibian Metals is a major user of the
electricity from the new power plant.
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Criticism of the project
• Omaruru citizens have criticized this project because,
like many other such resource exploitation projects in
the developing world, “Namibia will be stuck with
the negative long-term effects while the first world
happily buys the safe and clean end product.”
• Namibian Metals is promoting the project by
pointing out the jobs that will be created, but the
people of Omaruru have expressed very little desire
for new jobs and only expressed concern over their
health and environment.
• The project will most likely lead to degradation of
water supply, destruction of bosky lands, and cases of
silicosis for residents and workers
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PRODUCTION of silicon chips
• In this section you will study environmental, human
health, and social impacts associated with the
production of silicon chips
– Chip fabrication industry overview
– Inputs, wastes, and pollutants
transportation
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– Working conditions and consequences
– Other damages
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Chip fabrication industry (1)
• High grade silica used
• Different from lower grade
silica used in glass bottles,
lubricants for mechanical
tools, concrete and bricks,
and silicone implants
• Referred to as silicon chip
fabrication, semiconductor
fabrication, or wafer
fabrication
• It is the “construction of a rectangular ‘die’, a highly
intricate set of patterned layers of doped silicon, insulators
and metals that forms the functional heart of a microchip”
(Williams, Ayres, & Heller, 2002).
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Chip fabrication industry (2)
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• Chip fabrication takes place worldwide.
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• The chip fabrication plants I discuss in this
presentation are located in the United States.
• Plants are now emerging in many other countries,
such as Isreal, India, Ireland, Russia, and China
(Parthasarathy, 2002).
• Remember that as with most other industries,
operations in countries with lower GDPs are more
damaging to workers an the environment than
operations in countries with higher GDPs.
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Chip fabrication Industry (3)
• The chip fabrication industry has an incredible
amount influence and power.
“At the end of each year, when the Bureau of Labor
Statistics releases the results of its survey on occupational
health and safety, the Semiconductor Industry Association,
which calls itself ‘the leading voice for the semiconductor
industry,’ and whose member companies constitute more
than 90 percent of U.S.-based semiconductor production,
issues a press release announcing that the industry ranks
among the safest manufacturing industries in the nation”
(Fisher, 2001).
• As you will see from the following slides, the
semiconductor industry is highly damaging to the
environment and human health
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Inputs cause significant damage (1)
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According to Williams et al. (2002),
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Microchips themselves are small, valuable and
have a wide variety of applications, which naively
suggests that they deliver large benefits to society
with negligible environmental impact. On the other
hand, the semiconductor industry uses hundreds,
even thousands of chemicals, many in significant
quantities and many of them toxic. Emissions of
these chemicals have potential impact on air, water
and soil systems and potentially pose an occupational
risk for line workers.
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Inputs cause significant damage (2)
• Although products
contained in a silicon chip
are not highly polluting, due
to a chip’s nature of
requiring high amounts of
inputs of energy and
chemicals during creation,
its life cycle creates high
amounts of pollution
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Inputs Required (1)
• According to Williams et al. (2002), to make the
average 2-gram microchip:
– 1600 grams of fossil fuels and 72 grams of chemicals
necessary
– “Indicat[es] that the environmental weight of
semiconductors far exceeds their small size.”
– The reason for the extraordinarily high amount of inputs is
that “Microchips and many other high-tech goods are
extremely low-entropy, highly organized forms of matter.
Given that they are fabricated using relatively high entropy
starting materials, it is natural to expect that a substantial
investment of energy and process materials is needed for the
transformation into an organized form.”
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Inputs required (2)
• According to (Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition [SVTC], 1997),
one six-inch wafer requires the following inputs
– 3,200 cubic feet of bulk gases,
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– 22 cubic feet of hazardous gases,
– 2,275 gallons of deionized water,
– 20 pounds of chemicals, and
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– 285 kilowatt hours of electrical power
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Wastes produced
• According to (SVTC, 1997), one six-inch wafer produces the
following wastes
– 25 pounds of sodium hydroxide
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– 2,840 gallons of waste water
– 7 pounds of miscellaneous hazardous wastes
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Pollutants released into air
According to (SVTC, 1997), one six-inch wafer releases the
following pollutants into the air
– Acid fumes
– Volatile organic
compounds
– Toxic gases, including
arsine
– Deionized water
– Solvents
– Alkaline cleaning solutions
– Acids
– Photo resists
– Aqueous metals
– Waste etchants
– Waste aqueous developing
solutions
– Waste aqeuous metals
– chromium
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Significance (1)
• You can see from the preceding slides that a significant
amount of inputs is required. To illustrate, I would like to
draw your attention to two inputs that we can all relate to:
water and electricity. 2,275 gallons of water are needed to
create one microchip, which is about the amount of water
the average American consumes in two weeks (Archer &
Turner, 1997). 285 kilowatt hours of electrical power are
needed to create one microchip, which is more than the
amount of electricity the average American household
consumes in one week (Energy Information
Administration, 2003).
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Significance (2)
• We now see that there are a significant amount of inputs, but
how do we understand their impacts? “Dirty secrets of the chip
making industry” published in USA Today, Jan 12, 1998
describes the chemicals used in chip making.
Some chemicals are suspected carcinogens and reproductive
toxins. Others, such as hydrogen fluoride, a colorless liquid or gas,
are so strong that they can cause severe burns deep beneath the
skin. Arsine gas is the most toxic and attacks red blood cells. A
leaking cylinder in a typical living room would be lethal with one
whiff. Phosphine gas, also toxic, destroys lung tissue. Silane gas
ignites on contact with air and has engulfed workers in flames.
“When you consider that Intel’s Rio Rancho, New Mexico
facility can process 5,000 eight-inch silicon wafers in a single
week, the environmental costs are staggering” (SVTC, 1997).
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Significance (3)
• What is even more frightening is that the
consequences from exposure to many of the inputs,
wastes, and pollutants in unknown, or if it is known
is kept secret from the public.
• The following slides illustrate the results of poor
working conditions and the impacts to workers.
However, in many cases, it is uncertain which inputs,
wastes, or pollutants are responsible for the damage.
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Working conditions
• “The employees work inside low-story buildings in ‘clean
rooms that are so free of dust that even hospital operating rooms
are dirty by comparison. Workers wear head-to-toe suites not to
protect themselves but to keep their skin flakes, breath, and hair
from contaminating the valuable chips” (“Dirty secrets,” 1998).
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The head-to-toe suits
• “[The suits] are deplorably inadequate to protect workers
against skin contact with the acids, solvents and other chemicals
they use as a daily part of their job. Even worse, most cleanroom ventilation systems are designed to recirculate the
majority of the air used in the workplace, so as to prevent new
infusions of airborne dust—in effect, workers are breathing the
same chemically suffused air over and over again throughout
the workday “(Fisher, 2001).
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Why conditions are so bad
• “Corporate management has stated that if they did
everything that has been recommended to them, they
would be out of business” (James Cochran, now a
safety manager for Phillips Semiconductor in “Dirty
secrets,” 1998)
• Those in the business of silicon chip fabrication have
said that they care more about turning out a quality
product and making a profit that protecting their
employees from the chemicals previously mentioned
and the problems that result when they come in
contact with those chemicals.
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Accidents are common (1)
A toxic yellow-brown cloud rose from the floor at a
Teccor Electronics computer chip plant in Irving, Texas.
Acids had leaked from a faulty pump onto silicon wafers
littering the floor. The reaction created the dangerous fumes.
Three employees, dizzy and struggling to breathe,
wound up in the hospital. For weeks, they suffered
respiratory problems. Teccor President Al Lapierre says
employees ‘needlessly stuck their noses’ in the fumes.
But federal investigators saw another problem that day
in 1995. ‘Safety was secondary to production’ wrote an
investigator for the Occupational Safety and health
Administration (OSHA), which governs workplace practices.
continued…
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Accidents are common (2)
• Supervisors knew the floor was dirty but did not clean it
because they would have had to close the plant for several days,
OSHA said (“Dirty secrets,” 1998).
• That the electronics industry is a clean one is completely false
– When dealing with such dangerous chemicals, minor mistakes or
problems, such as mixing the wrong chemicals or a leaking
hazardous waste drum, often lead to major disasters.
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Results of working conditions (1)
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• Cancer
• Miscarriages
• Birth defects
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• Other health problems
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Results of working conditions (2)
• “[F]ormer IBM workers Michael Ruffing and Faye
Calton are the parents of Zachary Ruffing, 15, who
was born blind and with facial deformities so severe
he cannot breathe through his mouth or nose. They
originally sued for $40 million in damages. Other
[IBM] cases name cancers of the gastrointestinal and
lymphatic systems; of the skin, bone and brain; and,
most commonly, of the breast and testes. The cases
filed by [employees of another plant] reflect a similar
suite of cancers, the majority of which—like the
cancers listed above—have all shown increased rates
over the past 20 years” (Fisher 2001).
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Results of working conditions (3)
• According to a study cited in the Fisher article, U.S. IBM
workers of five or more years between 1975 and 1989 were 2.5
times more likely to die of primary brain cancer than the general
population.
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• According to the Dirty Secrets article, semiconductor workers
“have a 29% higher rate of exposure to chemicals that resulted
in lost work days than did all manufacturing workers in 1995.”
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• Studies also have shown higher rates of respiratory problems,
dermatitis, and miscarriages among chip workers than other
manufacturing workers.
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• Very little other research is available because so many
chemicals are used in microchip fabrication and so little is
known about them that it is difficult to discover exactly which
chemicals are causing which problems.
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Why conditions don’t improve
• Employees often think that their health problems are not workrelated because they may not relate their health problem to their
work due to company doctors and management telling them that
their workplaces are safe.
• Often, they do not tell officials of their working conditions
because they fear losing their jobs.
• However, Alida Hernandez, a former IBM employee
interviewed in the Fisher article has talked about her breast
cancer. She has no family history of breast cancer and “[a]t the
time of her departure, two of her immediate colleagues had
fallen ill. One female engineer was on a leave of absence as a
result of breast cancer, and the employee who had trained
Hernandez on disk-coating operations came down with skin
cancer. Another colleague suffered a miscarriage.” The article
contains many others with stories similar to Hernandez’.
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Damages to surrounding area (1)
• Workers are not the only ones who suffer from the
chip fabrication industry.
• The environment surrounding the silicon ship
fabrication plants and those who depend on that
environment have suffered in the past as explained in
the following slide
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Damage to surrounding area (2)
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•
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“Built just three years after the disk drive was invented at IBM ARC in
1956, the Cottle Road plant was the first among dozens of
manufacturing facilities -- including those operated by Intel, HewlettPackard, Applied Materials and National Semiconductor -- discovered
in the early 1980s to have collectively leaked tens of thousands of
gallons of organic solvents and other toxic contaminants into the
groundwater of Silicon Valley. Today, the valley is home to more EPA
Superfund sites (29) than any other county in the nation, with the most
notorious of those sites -- from a leaking tank at a Fairchild
Semiconductor fabrication plant -- poisoning a well that served the
south San Jose neighborhood of Los Paseos. A subsequent study by the
state's Department of Health Services found 2.5 to three times the
expected rate of miscarriages and birth defects among pregnant women
exposed to the contaminated drinking water, leading to a lawsuit and
multimillion-dollar settlement in 1986 with over 250 claimants”
(Fisher, 2001).
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Other damages?
• The chip fabrication industry has apparently been
damaging surrounding areas far less in recent years,
however I was unable to find information regarding
what happens to wastes that are still produced.
• This lack of information may be due to the industry
disposing their wastes in ways that have not yet been
exposed and does not necessarily imply that they
dispose them in ways that do not damage people and
the environment.
• The wastes still have to go somewhere.
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PRODUCTS that use silicon chips
• In this section you will study environmental, human
health, and social impacts associated with products
that use silicon chips
– What products contain silicon chips
– Implications of products that contain use silicon chips
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Products that contain silicon
chips (1)
• Made smaller through
silicon chip use:
– Radios
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– Televisions
• Every day devices made
more technologically
sophisticated through silicon
chip use:
– Computers
– Washing machines
– Video games
– Microwaves
– Cameras
– Dishwashers
– Electronic medical
equipment
– Ovens
– Cars
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Products that contain silicon
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Made possible through silicon chip use:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Quartz watches
Cell phones
Bar code scanners
Portable calculators
Fax machines
Copy machines
Pacemakers
Hearing aids
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Implications of product use (1)
• We could argue that societies that use radios, televisions,
computers, video games, and cell phones have become more
socially isolated. Whereas children used to play games with
each other, they now stay at home in their houses to watch
television or play games on the computer or video game
machine. Adults who may have once gone to bars and cafés to
socialize may now do it in online chat rooms. When someone is
talking on a cell phone in a public place, she is not as present
with the people around her. Social isolation can lead to people
feeling less connected to their communities, having retarded
social skills, and feeling lonely among other problems. On the
other hand, we could argue that the Internet has been an
incredible tool, made possible by silicon chips, that has
provided for the exchange of important information. We might
also argue that cell phones have saved us time because we can
make phone calls while we are driving.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Implications of product use (2)
• Some could argue that cars have led to a rise in energy
consumption, but others would argue that they drive less
because they shop on the Internet now.
• I doubt that many people would argue that the use of
pacemakers and other electronic medical equipment has had a
negative impact, unless they felt that people living longer was
undesirable.
• Portable calculators, fax machines, copy machines, and
technologically advanced microwaves, washing machines, and
cars have generally made life easier and more efficient for us,
although these machines may have replaced some jobs.
• As you can see, the impacts on humans, communities, and the
environment when people use these products are ambiguous.
Overall, these machines make life easier for their users, but
possibly at the loss of social interaction, jobs, adventure,
relaxation, and other valued activities.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
TRANSPORTAION
• In this section you will study environmental, human
health, and social impacts associated with the
transportation systems used during the cradle to
grave lifecycle of silica and silicon chips.
– Please go to the next slide
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Transportation
production
• A crucial element of cradle to grave analysis of silica and silicon
chips
• Necessary to:
products
– Move silica from the mine and smelter to silicon chip
manufacturing plants
– Move the chips from the mine and smelter to silicon chip
manufacturing plants
– Move the chips to the factory where the electronics are
manufactured
– Move those electronics from the manufacturing plant to the
distribution centers and stores
– Move the electronics from the distribution centers and stores to the
locations where they are used
– Move the no longer useful electronics from the locations where
they are used to the recycling center or landfill
– Move the no longer useful electronics from the recycling center to
a disposal operation usually in Asia
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Transportation: general
• Most transportation is fueled by petroleum products, which
present a whole host of problems ranging from greenhouse gas
emissions to extracting the limited natural resource to
construction and disposal of the transportation vessels the
petroleum produducts are used in.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Transportation:silica/silicon chips
• Transportation is a huge contributor to the destructive
nature of the silicon chip and electronics industries
that cannot be left out when analyzing silica and
silicon chips from cradle to grave, but the exact
problems it creates are not within the scope of this
paper
• Without going into too much detail about the human,
community, and environmental impact of the world’s
transportation network, I do wish to mention three
important points regarding transportation as it relates
to silica and silicon chips.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
1-Distance
• Silica and silicon chips travel long distances. In many cases, due
to low transportation costs, the locations where silica is
extracted, where silicon chips are made, where electronics are
made, where the electronics are used, and where the electronics
are disposed of are in different parts of the world
• This map shows the path a typical silicon chip may take
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2-Lack of pollution controls
• Developing nations do not have as strict of pollution controls as
the United States and other first world nations, meaning that
tailpipe emissions are other wastes vehicles create are much
higher.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
3-Transportation infrastructure
• Many mining, fabrication, and disposal sites are created in areas
that do not have sufficient transportation infrastructure at the
time these sites are created. Road building, probably the most
common destructive activity related to the construction of
transportation infrastructure, destroys habitat and is, in and of
itself, polluting.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
DISPOSAL of products containing
silicon chips
• In this section you will study environmental, human
health, and social impacts associated with disposing
of products that use silicon chips
– Disposal of products containing chips (E-waste)
– Disposal of silicon chips
transportation
disposal
– What E-waste has done
– Solutions not adopted by all
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Disposal of products
containing silicon chips
• As I stated earlier in the paper, the silicon chips
themselves are not highly polluting or damaging to
human health and it is the processes of creating the
chips that are. However, when the electronic products
made possible by silicon chips are disposed of after
they are no longer useful, they once again have an
extremely negative impact on humans, communities,
and the environment. Most products that contain
silicon chips are categorized as E-waste when they
are no longer useful.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E-Waste (1)
• “In 1998, it was estimated that 20 million computers became
obsolete in the United States, and the overall E-waste volume
was estimated at 5 to 7 million tons” (Puckett et al., 2002).
• Computers and other electronics are replaced not when they are
broken, but when they have become undesireable due to
improvements in technology.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E-Waste (2)
• Many of the old electronics are stored, some are
refurbished, re-used, or recycled domestically, some
end up in landfills and incinerators, the cleanest of
which are very polluting, and some are sent to
prisons to be dismantled.
• It is now becoming more and more difficult for
consumers to dispose of electronics in these ways
causing many consumers to turn to recycling,
thinking that it is the environmentally and socially
responsible thing to do. However, there are few
recyclers who actually make use of used electronics
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E-Waste (3)
• The “solution” in the United States and Canada has become
exporting the no longer useful electronics to Asia.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Problems exporting E-waste
• E-waste is exported because low wages in developing countries
make them the only places where it has a positive value
• It is damaging to humans, communities, and the environment
because environmental and occupational regulations are lax or
not well enforced
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silicon chip disposal (1)
• Chips that still have value are resold
• All other chips are processed in acid to remove
precious metals
• The following description of the process is from
Exporting harm: The high-tech trashing of Asia,
Prepared by The Basel Action Newtork and the
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (Puckett et al., 2002)
• The authors have extensively studied the Guiyu area
of China
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silicon chip disposal (2)
Many hundreds of workers,
usually women and girls[…]place
the circuit boards on shallow
wok-like grills that are heated
underneath by a can filled with
ignited coal. In the wok-grill is a
pool of molten lead-tin solder [a
metal or metallic alloy, especially
of lead and tin, that joins metallic
surfaces (Merriam-Webster,
2002)]. The circuit boards are
placed in the pooled solder and
heated until the chips are
removable. These are then
plucked out with pliers and
placed quickly in buckets.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Silicon chip disposal (3)
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Solder is also collected by slapping the boards hard against
something such as a rock where the solder collects and is later
melted off and sold. While fans are sometimes used to blow the
toxic lead-tin solder fumes away, the exposure on a daily basis is
likely to be very damaging.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silicon chip disposal (4)
After most of the board is
picked over, it then goes to
large scale burning or acid
recovery operations outside of
town along the river where
the last remaining metals are
recovered. Whole riverbanks
were seen full of charred
circuit boards reduced to
blackened fiber-glass. This
final burning process is bound
to emit substantial quantities
of harmful heavy metals,
dioxins, beryllium, and
PAH’s.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Silicon chips disposal (5)
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Much of the work to remove chips from circuit boards is done for the
ultimate purpose of removing precious metals. This is most often done by
a very primitive process using acid baths. Although we could not test the
actual chemicals, after consulting with metallurgical experts, we are
confident that the baths were in fact aqua regia (a mixture of 25% pure
nitric acid and 75% pure hydrochloric acid). This mixture and process was
invariably applied directly on the banks of rivers and waterways.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Silicon chip disposal (6)
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The aqua regia was first heated over small fires and then poured into
plastic tubs full of computer chips. These in turn were routinely swirled
and agitated to dissolve the tiny amounts of gold found inside. After
many hours of this, a chemical is then added which precipitates the gold,
making it settle to the bottom of the tub. This is recovered as a mud,
dried, and then finally melted to a tiny bead of pure, shiny gold.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silicon chip disposal (7)
After most of the board is
picked over, it then goes to
large scale burning or acid
recovery operations outside of
town along the river where
the last remaining metals are
recovered. Whole riverbanks
were seen full of charred
circuit boards reduced to
blackened fiber-glass. This
final burning process is bound
to emit substantial quantities
of harmful heavy metals,
dioxins, beryllium, and
PAH’s.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Silicon chip disposal (8)
The men worked at this
process day and night
protected only by rubber
boots and gloves. They
had nothing to protect
them from inhaling and
enduring the acid and
often toxic fumes. The
aqua regia process is
known to emit toxic
chlorine and sulphur
dioxide gasses.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
What E-waste has done
• A water sample taken from the river, where wastes from acid
stripping and other processes are dumped, “revealed lead levels
2,400 times higher than the World Health Organization Drinking
Water Guidelines” (Puckett et al., 2002). The villages in China,
India, and Pakistan studied by the Puckett report have chosen
poison instead of poverty. They “have made a mess of [their]
good faming village[s]. After they have dismantled the
computers, they burn the useless parts. Every day villagers
inhale this dirty air; their bodies have become weak. Many
people have developed respiratory and skin problems. Some
people wash vegetables and dishes with the polluted water, and
they get stomach sickness.” The human health and
environmental problems that can arise are too numerous to list
in this report, but it is safe to assume that they are
overwhelming as the materials they are handling are highly
hazardous and developing countries lack the appropriate
technology to handle them safely.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
Solutions not adopted by all
• Unlike Canada and the United States, most countries in the
European Union have adopted policies that allow them to
greatly reduce the amount of E-waste they create and stop
exporting the E-waste in a way manner that is harmful to
humans, communities and the environment
transportation
disposal
– Precautionary Principle: a project or process cannot occur unless it
can be proven that it will not harm people and in some cases the
environment
transportation
disposal
– Extended Producer Responsibility: producers are responsible for
the products they create by requiring them to take the products
back when they are no longer useful therefore encouraging
producers to design their products for longevity, upgradability, and
reuse
CONCLUSION
– Basel Ban: calls for a minimization of transboundary movement of
hazardous waste
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONCLUSION
• The way in which silica is used is typical of the way many
natural resources are used today: The first world nations extract
natural resources from developing nations, reap the benefits of
the products developed from those natural resources, and then
send the no longer useful products back to the developing
nations who then have to deal with the waste problem. Also,
corporations exploit minority and poorer people living in first
world nations by giving them no other choice but to work under
deplorable conditions. Governments of first world nations and
international bodies, such as the World Trade Organization and
the World Bank back the corporations who profit from creating
these products and all others who gain something from using
these products, while they allow conditions to deteriorate for
those living in developing nations.
– continued
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conclusion
• Generally, those who are white and have more wealth
benefit from this arrangement, while those who are
not white and have less wealth suffer from this
arrangement. Unfortunately those with power are
those who benefit and are not willing to work to
change the system. Partly how they remain in power
is through deceit by not providing information that
would be detrimental to their position. I hope that this
paper serves to empower those who are exploited and
those who wish to help the exploited people of the
world by giving them a better understanding of the
process one natural resource goes through from its
cradle to its grave.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• CLICK ONE:
• Works cited and where to go for more information
–
–
–
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Introduction
Extraction
Production
Products
Transportation (none available)
Disposal
• Photo sources
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Navigation bar
Introduction
Extraction
Production
Products
Transportation
Disposal
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction information and
works cited
• Chorlton, W. (2002). The invention of the silicon chip: a
revolution in daily life. Chicago: Heinemann Library
• Williams, E., Ayres, R., Heller, M. (2002). The 17 kg microchip:
energy & materials use in the production. Environmental
science and technology, 36(24), 5504-5510.
extraction
Extraction information and
works cited
production
•
INTRODUCTION
•
products
•
•
transportation
disposal
•
•
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brandt, E. (2001, July 12). Omaruru smelter project raises residents’ concerns.
The Namibian. Retrieved March 8, 2003, from http://www.namibian.com.na
Graig, A. (2001, July 20) How safe is quartz mining? Namibian Economist.
Retrieved March 8, 2003, from http://www.economist.com.na
Graig, A. (2001, July 6). Surface owners agreements last hurdle for Omaruru
silicon mine. Namibian Economist. Retrieved March 4, 2003, from
http://www.economist.com.na
Mahoney, D.P. (1999). Control of health hazards from crystalline silica.
Professional Safety, 44(5), 31-33.
Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. (2002). Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.
Retrieved summer 2003, from http://www.m-w.com (no further silicon info.)
Tasmania Public Land Use Commission. (1996). Tasmania Social and economic
report: mining. In Tasmania regional forest agreements (Industry Development
> Regional Forest Agreements > Publications > Reports > Social and Economic
> Tasmania Social and Economic Report > Chapter 5 Minerals > Mining).
Retrieved August 13, 2003, from
http://www.affa.gov.au/content/output.cfm?ObjectID=D2C48F86-BA1A-11A1A2200060B0A01891
extraction
Production information and
works cited
production
•
INTRODUCTION
products
•
•
transportation
disposal
•
•
transportation
disposal
•
•
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Archer, E.R.M., & Turner II, B.L. (1997). Introduction to the Human
Dimensions of Global Change. Retrieved July 30, 2003, from
http://www.aag.org/HDGC/www/intro/units/unit1/worksheets/wksheet1-3.PDF
(no further silicon info.)
Dirty secrets of the chipmaking industry. (1998). USA Today. Retrieved March
20, 2003, from http://www.svtc.org/listserv/letter4.htm
Energy Information Adminstration. (2003). Electricity Quick Stats. Retrieved
July 30, 2003, from http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickelectric.htm
(no further silicon info.)
Fisher, J. (2001, July 30). Poison valley. SALON Magazine. Retrieved
December 9, 2002, from http://dir.salon.com
Parthasarathy, A. (2002, August 31). Give silicon another 15 years: Intel chief.
The Hindu. Retrieved August 13, 2003, from http://www.hinduonnet.com
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. (1997, February 10). The environmental cost of
computer chips. Retrieved December 6, 2002, from
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=3432
Williams, E., Ayres, R., Heller, M. (2002). The 17 kg microchip: energy &
materials use in the production. Environmental science and technology, 36(24),
5504-5510.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Products information
• Chorlton, W. (2002). The invention of the silicon chip: a
revolution in daily life. Chicago: Heinemann Library.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Disposal information and
works cited
• Puckett, J., Byster, L., Westervelt, S., Gutierrez, R., Davis, S.,
Hussain, A., et al. (2002). Exporting harm: The high-tech
trashing of Asia. Seattle: The Basel Action Network, & San
Jose, CA: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Navigation bar photos
production
•
•
products
•
•
transportation
disposal
•
Extraction
Rotary Club of Seto North. www.setolink.ne.jp/~seton.rc/ ourcityseto.html
Production
Sandia National Laboratories.
www.sandia.gov/mstc/technologies/microelectronics/facilities.html\
Products
Circuit City. www.circuitcity.com
Disposal
Puckett, J., Byster, L., Westervelt, S., Gutierrez, R., Davis, S., Hussain, A.,
et al. (2002). Exporting harm: The high-tech trashing of Asia. Seattle: The
Basel Action Network, & San Jose, CA: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
Transportation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/NE/eco/diesel/
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Introduction photos
• Opening page
First Science. www.firstscience.com/site/ articles/bradley.asp
• What are silicon chips?
The Tech Report. www.tech-report.com/reviews/
2002q3/ti4600s/index.x?pg=1
• What have they done?
-Chorlton, W. (2002). The invention of the silicon chip: a
revolution in daily life. Chicago: Heinemann Library
-Circuit City. http://www.circuitcity.com
• What is silicon?
A Spiritual Platform. spiritualplatform.org/sp/
crystals/crystalsq.html
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Extraction photos
production
•
•
products
•
•
transportation
disposal
•
•
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXTRACTION: Mining of silica
First Science. www.firstscience.com/site/ articles/bradley.asp
Impacts to mine site
Mining Technology. www.mining-technology.com
Case study: Omaruru, Namibia
TravelAmap.com. travelamap.com/africa/
Water contamination
School of Earth Sciences and Geography, Kingston University.
www.kingston.ac.uk/esg/courses/msc/mmds.html
Importance of water (1)
Wrexham County Borough Council's Web site
http://www.wrexham.gov.uk/images/contaminated_land/clean_river.jpg
Importance of water (2)
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo.
www.science.waterloo.ca/research/ggr/MineWasteGeochemistry/AcidMineDrai
nage.html
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Production photos (1)
production
•
•
products
•
transportation
disposal
•
•
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRODUCTION of silicon chips
The Tech Report. www.tech-report.com/reviews/ 2002q3/ti4600s/index.x?pg=1
Significance of Inputs
-Equitorial Oil. http://www.equatorialoil.com/photos/power%20plant.jpg
-Emergency Planning for Chemical Spills.
http://www.chemicalspill.org/Photos/next1.html
Inputs Required (2)
Emergency Planning for Chemical Spills.
http://www.chemicalspill.org/Photos/next1.html
Wastes Produced
Asheville Global Report. www.agrnews.org/issues/ 162/environment.html
Pollutants released into air
Eco IQ Magazine www.ecoiq.com/magazine/ opinion/opinion31.html
– …CONTINUED…
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
Production photos (2)
production
•
products
•
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
•
Working conditions
-Infocus. infocus.gsfc.nasa.gov/ facil.html
-Sandia National Laboratories.
http://www.sandia.gov/mstc/technologies/microelectronics/facilities.ht
ml
Accidents are common
Consumer and Employment Protection, Western Australia.
http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/imagebin/sis2199.gif
Results of working conditions (1)
-National Breast Cancer Foundation. www.nationalbreastcancer.org/
signs_and_symptoms/
-Venik’s Aviaion. www.aeronautics.ru/archive/ du-watch/iraq_images/
-Whatsbetter?com. www.whatsbetter.com/display-pyt?item=bottemten
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
Products photos
• PRODUCTS that use silicon chips (1)
-Circuit City. www.circuitcity.com
-Sears. www.sears.com
• Products that use silicon chips (2)
-Hampshire Direct Hearing Services.
www.directhearing.co.uk/ styles.htm
-Circuit City. www.circuitcity.comwww.sears.com
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Transportation photos
• Transportation: general
photo by Zack Kahn
• 1-Distance
The Peters Projection, An Accurate Area Map.
www.petersmap.com
• 2-Lack of pollution controls
-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
www.epa.gov/NE/eco/diesel/
-United Nations Chronicle.
http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2002/issue3/081902_asian_ha
ze.html
• 3-Transportation infrastructure
Stop Fortis. www.stopfortis.org/ BulldozersPhotos2_14_02.html
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
Click to return to bibliography navigation page
INTRODUCTION
extraction
production
products
transportation
disposal
Disposal photos
• All photos in the disposal section come from:
Puckett, J., Byster, L., Westervelt, S., Gutierrez, R.,
Davis, S., Hussain, A., et al. (2002). Exporting harm:
The high-tech trashing of Asia. Seattle: The Basel
Action Network, & San Jose, CA: Silicon Valley
Toxics Coalition.
transportation
disposal
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Note: Most photos are from sources that do not necessarily relate to silica or silicon chips. For
photos retrieved from web sites, I have listed the name of the web site listed and the web
address from which I retrieved the photos.
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