Corporate Environmental Report

Contamination

Handle, store and dispose of all potential contaminants and hazardous substances at all sites, in a manner to meet or exceed the strictest environmental safety standards of any community in which we operate.

Semiconductor manufacturing requires the use of potentially contaminating chemicals and gases. Spills or leaks of acids, solvents, fuel or other chemicals are a potential hazard to the soil and groundwater. For this reason, liquid chemicals are surrounded by containment structures to prevent contamination during accidents or emergencies. In manufacturing areas, chemicals and toxic substances are stored in separate and clearly marked containers. In the chemical stations the connecting loading points of the different chemicals are mechanically differentiated so as to avoid any possible human error by loading the wrong chemical into the wrong container.

All sites have an emergency response team to deal with spills or leaks that may occur. At several sites, just-in-time chemical delivery is used to minimize chemical inventory. Ground wells at the up-gradient and down-gradient of every site have also been installed to track the quality of the groundwater flowing under the location. Analyses are made at least once a year and more often if there is a potential concern.

At Muar, in Malaysia, three important initiatives have been implemented:

a secondary containment for the storage of HCl and NaOH;
transferral of spillages or leaks during loading or unloading of HCI and NaOH to the waste water treatment plant;
construction of trenches for carrying liquid other than clean water.

In addition to the precautions listed above, each site strictly monitors the disposal of waste using consignment notes to track waste from the site to its final destination. Known as the Manifest System, its purpose is to ensure that every load of waste leaving the site arrives at an appropriate facility for recycling, treatment or disposal. By ensuring that wastes are being taken to proper facilities, the site can minimize, if not eliminate, any future health, safety and environmental liabilities to ST.