Intel and other semiconductor companies are working with industrial materials companies to oppose a U.S. crackdown on “forever chemicals,” substances used in countless products that degrade slowly in the environment.
Lobbying from semiconductor manufacturers has led to widespread opposition to new rules and bans on chemicals known as PFAS. According to the US government, these substances are found in the blood of 97% of Americans.
More than 30 US states are considering legislation to address PFAS this year, according to the environmental advocacy group Safer States. The California and Maine bills are set to pass in 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Maine Senator Stacey Brenner, who supported the state’s bipartisan legislation, said, “I think clean drinking water and the ability for farmers to irrigate their fields are far more important than microchips.
Minnesota has introduced legislation to ban certain products containing PFAS by 2025.
The Semiconductor Industry Association, whose members include Intel, IBM and Nvidia, signed a letter opposing Minnesota’s law, saying the measures were too broad and could ban thousands of products, including electronics. claim. Chipmakers also opposed the California and Maine laws.
The backlash in the US echoes a debate in Europe where chipmakers warned that a proposed PFAS ban would disrupt semiconductor supplies.
Long-term PFAS exposure can weaken the immune system, reduce infant and fetal growth, and increase the risk of kidney cancer in adults, according to a 2022 report by the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
PFAS are widely used in products ranging from non-stick cookware to fire foam to ski wax, and are widely used in semiconductor manufacturing. Chip companies usually say there is no substitute for PFAS in manufacturing.
“For applications that I know of, there are no viable commercial-scale alternatives,” said John Rogers, Moody’s senior vice president for chemical manufacturers.
State action comes because federal regulators are also working to keep PFAS under control. Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed limiting chemicals in drinking water, citing health risks. The proposal is open for 60 days of public comment and will lead to new rules that the EPA hopes to finalize by the end of this year.
If fully implemented, “the rule will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-caused illnesses,” the EPA said.
Intel has added PFAS to the issues it has lobbied for since 2021, according to federal disclosures. In 2022, the company helped launch the Sustainable PFAS Action Network, a lobbying group against his PFAS laws in California and Minnesota. Kevin Fay, an executive of the organization and his director, said he had been an external lobbyist for Intel since at least 2008, regulatory disclosures show. The Sustainable PFAS Action Network also represents the Semiconductor Industry Association.
Fay said companies are considering the EPA’s proposal. Intel declined to comment.
U.S. PFAS regulations do not yet pose a significant risk to semiconductor companies, but if the new rules are adopted, the costs will likely be passed on to consumers at higher prices, said a senior director at Fitch. One Jason Pompeii said.
“There will be a tax to remediate, and we hope that it will encourage innovation and PFAS replacement,” he said.
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