lpetross

Semiconductor plants use a ridiculous amount of potentially harmful chemicals as part of the manufacturing process. Most of the material is recaptured and never makes it into the local environment. Intel uses probably close to 10M gallons of water a DAY and recycles the vast majority.

Before water enters a fab it goes through a water purification plant to eliminate any impurities. As the water leaves the fab it goes through another process to decontaminate and recycle it. The process of purifying water is expensive and consumes energy so they try and recycle as much as possible. The number 96% sticks out in my mind but that is an old number.

Simply stated, I do not worry about local pollution from semiconductor manufacturing in the United States due to all the regulations. I would live next door to the Chandler plant happily. Pull open Google Maps Satellite View, type in "Intel Chandler Soccer Field" Look at all the green area around the plant, that's where the 4% that isn't recycled goes. You will also see a beautiful golf course and nice houses just east of the plant.

Side note: as I understand it, plants moved to AZ/NM because they wanted to eliminate process variance. Weather and water are a major source of variance. So they want places that reduce variance while simultaneously being favorable business environments.

Reference: https://ktar.com/story/76977/intel-plant-replenishes-water-s...

This is an absolutely brilliant way of communicating the impact of assumptions on the outcomes of the models. The sad truth about our COVID data today is that the error bars are so wide on most key assumptions that best case, everything is ok, worst case, it's Armageddon.

AZ has been a semiconductor hub for decades. Intel, Motorola, ON and many others produce chips there. There is huge infrastructure and talent base for semiconductor manufacturing. Geographically, Chandler as a suburb of Phoenix has consistent weather, relatively cheap land, and access to water - as counter-intuitive as it sounds. I did my PhD in semiconductors at ASU and there might has well been a bus direct from the University to Intel.

Keep in mind, we're talking about PRODUCTION, not R&D. R&D happens elsewhere, this is just where the big plants go.