SILICON VALLEY TOXIC TOUR
Silicon Valley holds the image of being at the forefront of the high-tech revolution. However, under the dazzling technology lives the dirty dark side of the electronics industry. Silicon Valley is home to 29 toxic EPA Superfund sites, the highest concentration in the country. This pollution came from the original high-tech manufacturing facilities, which have since moved to places around the globe with weaker environmental and worker protections. Millions are still being paid to clean up the remaining high-tech toxic legacy which is disproportionate concentrated in low income communities of color.
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Click Here to see maps of Santa Clara County and find out who lives on or around the most impacted areas.
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History of Pollution, Illness and Death in Silicon Valley
In 1982, a San Jose mother discovered that her newborn had a rare respiratory illness caused by exposure to toxic high-tech pollution. Though the industry seemed “clean,” dangerous chemicals were actually being leaked out of underground storage tanks. Thousands of families surrounding electronics manufacturing facilities were exposed, as well as workers in the facilities. When hundreds of people began developing cancer, reproductive problems and other illnesses, they banded together to fight back. Click here to learn more about people who have challenged the high-tech industry.
Generations Later, Residents Are Still Getting Sick
Trichloroethylene (TCE) was one of the most notorious toxic chemicals used as a solvent to wash microscopic pieces of dust off semiconductor chips. According to three independent epidemiological studies, women who worked in semi-conductor fabrication rooms had up to 40% higher rates of miscarriages than non-manufacturing workers. This was only the first generation of exposure. Once used, TCE was either dumped indiscriminately or kept in leaking underground storage tanks. In the 80's, massive groundwater pollution was discovered. The polluted water led to birth defects and miscarriages in the second generation of the exposed populace. Today, TCE is impacting a third generation as it continues to invade office buildings at low level concentrations from leftover contamination that, over time, may result in even more health problems. Click here to learn more about toxics in electronics.
Take the Silicon Valley Toxic Tour
SVTC has put together an interactive toxic tour of Silicon Valley to show where the high-tech industry has damaged our environment. The tour gives insight into the hazards that the Silicon Valley faced as well as the effects of the industry migrating away from the workers and low income communities of San Jose.
Today, High-tech Still Drives a Low-Wage Service Economy
With a rising population of recent immigrants, 1.6 million people make their home in Silicon Valley. The influx of affluent high-tech executives and engineers exploded the housing market and cost of living, but also created a 2nd economy of working poor. Though most of the high-tech manufacturing facilities have been moved oversees, the industry still employs thousands of service sector workers such as janitors, gardeners and cafeteria workers. These low wage jobs are held primarily by immigrants and people of color.
Today, Low Income Communities Suffer the Greatest Burden of High-tech Legacy Pollution
Because of low pay, high-tech service workers and their families often have no choice but to live in sub-standard housing in the neighborhoods nearest to the Valley’s 29 toxic Superfund sites. In some cases, schools, housing and parks are literally right on top of polluted sites with residents exposed to what the government has deemed “acceptable levels.” However, the statistics tell a different story with low income people of color suffering higher numbers of health problems than more affluent, white residents of Silicon Valley, losing more years of life per death from heart disease, cancer and strokes. | | | |
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Learn More About High-tech History
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Link to SVTC's history of activism in the Silicon Valley
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