Computer chips, with on the side forever chemicals

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Some stories I worked as a journalist in the area still chase me. One of the first who could have happened below the skin about forever chemicals.

From the 1940s, forever, the chemicals often used the manufacturers as a way of being resistant to water, spots and heat. Think about Food packaging, more ordinary, Open gears of waterand even Underwear. They also used a lot of techniques that we relied on themselves; One subclass of chemicals is Used in lithium-ion battery Electrolytes and binders. There is now an increasing concern that are chemicals Ubiquitous in computer chip productionan industry that begins to see again fortune in the US.

Technically known as Polfooroalkyl substances (PFA), they are called forever chemicals due to particularly strong molecular bonds that keep them to break even in sharp terms. It is a home trait that also means that they can be kept in a hundred hundred or even thousands of years and potentially In the human body A few years. Most people in the US already have PFA in their blood, According to national health research centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) who included PFA testing since 1999. years. People eat food and drink water contaminated with chemicals or could be exposed if they live near or work in a factory where there are PFAs.

Researchers continue to try to fully understand the influence that these chemicals can have on the human body. Some of the most commonly used chemicals are already connected To health effects such as kidney and testicular cancer, hypertension and preeclampsia in pregnancy, higher cholesterol and more.

The landslide of the lawsuit forced some companies to do something in terms of their pollution. Companies involving 3M (manufacturer of scotting) and duPonta (manufactured Teflon) have submitted obligations subsequently downward or stretch out Chemicals. The levels of two of the most widest forms of PFAs in the American blood fell by 70 and 85 percent because production and use has fallen in the last few decades, according to Cdc. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized boundaries On the five most common species forever chemicals in drinking water last year.

The problem is solved, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Actually has Thousands of different kinds A former chemical. And new health problems appeared chemicals meant to replace the most motorized types of PFAs.

Oh, and deregulation may have been a favorite word of EPA now under Trump administration. In May, that SUGGESTED ROLLING Back drinking water for PFA. The The agency says he plans Expand the deadlines for consistent for two types of PFAs and abolish existing regulations for the remaining three types.

All this happens President Donald Trump follows the stand of former President Joe Biden, when it comes to an attempt to emphasize Sashore computer production, accompanying Global semiconductor deficit It ran into all kinds of industries from playing to the car. AI, rely on even more advanced chips, raised the roles.

Companies that make forever chemicals the smell of opportunity. Chemors in Dupont-Spinoff, for example, says on her website that his role is “necessary” in pressure to build a domestic supply chain of semiconductors. The company makes Teflon, which is used in the manufacture of chips due to heat resistance and corrosion. Hemors is also development Liquids that could be used to cool server in data centers in the process called Two-phase urge, which usually includes PFA.

Hemouri have already made plans to expand their facilities in Faietteville, North Carolinaand Parkerburg, West Virginiato support their ambitions. It is surprisingly collected by the Red Proponents for Health and Proponents of Environmental Protection, given the spacious damn hemorial with PFA. Fayetteville facility was found for contamination of water wells and was placed under a Consent order in 2019 years to restrict pollution. In March, North Carolina regulators They said Hemouri To expand good testing near Fayetteville at an additional 150,000 homes in danger of potential PFA contamination. And in August, Federal Judge order Hemouri to Stop dropping illegal quantities forever chemicals in the Ohio River in West Virginia.

These are not only Hemori under the microscope. They were raised with concerns About the new Semiconductor of Fabs in the United States, including chemicals used by risks that could represent workers and residents nearby. The Semiconductor Industry Association actually compiled by the Pfas consortium – which appeared, the PFA Regulation “will disrupt the Semiconductor Supply Chain and requires access chains at:” According to July 2024. Years FAQ Document.

Now, however, industry is in a decisively greater cabinet to the regulatory environment under Trump Administration. Trump AI ACTION PLAN The goal is to speed up data development in the part Quick Monitoring Permissions and Dismissal Reviews to Environment For semiconductor objects and related “materials”. In July, the president approved “certain chemical producers who produce chemicals in connection with semiconductors” Two-year-old Exceptions from Pollution Pollution Rules of Bidet-Ere. And former chemical industry lawyer, which now has a high position in EPA, it worked on the annulment of another biden-era rule, which makes companies responsible for cleaning the PFA pollution creating, The New York Times export.

EPA Press Secretary Carolin Holran said in e-mail Edge that the EPA is still “keep pollutants responsible” and that “” No decision is “related to the proposed changes in the rules of the Rules Report The New York Times. Chemors invests in “top technologies for emission control” in its production places to reduce chemical editions, Jess Loizeauk spokesman said in an e-mail Edge.

The EPA still must finalize the changes in the rules and will probably face legal battles because it tries to hamper water and air protection. It is already necessary forever to start accepting the PFA problem, and the chemicals seem to be kept even longer because trump administration priorities and computer demand do not let the computer allow them to fail.