Why is Silicon Valley so polluted?
Silicon Valley’s sensitivity to industrial contamination is perhaps an accident of history. It moved from agriculture directly to high-tech, as sprawling apricot orchards were uprooted to make way for tilt-up electronics industry offices, laboratories, and factories.
Why is Silicon Valley considered a poisoned community?
Thanks to the companies’ influences, it’s extremely expensive to live in the area. And transportation is so clogged that there are special buses bringing tech-sector workers to and from their jobs. Some critics even perceive threats to democracy itself. In a word, Silicon Valley has become toxic.
Why are there so many Superfund sites in Silicon Valley California?
The Origin of Silicon Valley Superfund Sites As computer chip manufacturing was being done mainly in Silicon Valley, the pollutants associated with the production of computer chips and other computer equipment found their way into the soil of the Santa Clara area.
Which location has the highest level of Superfund sites in California?
Santa Clara
Santa Clara has more Superfund sites than any other US county. In many cases, cleanup was completed, though completely eradicating the toxins is often impossible. At the site of a former Intel plant, for example, contamination was brought down to safe levels.
Why is Silicon Valley one of the most poisoned places in the US?
Santa Clara County has 23 active Superfund sites, more than any other county in the United States. All of them were designated as such in the mid to late 1980s, and most were contaminated by toxic chemicals involved in making computer parts. Completely cleaning up these chemicals may be impossible.
Is Silicon Valley an actual place?
Silicon Valley, industrial region around the southern shores of San Francisco Bay, California, U.S., with its intellectual centre at Palo Alto, home of Stanford University.
What is a federal Superfund site?
Superfund sites are polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980.
How many Superfund sites are in Silicon Valley?
23 superfund sites
Literally. The true cost of Silicon Valley’s success is in the ground you stand on. Santa Clara County is home to 23 superfund sites, the most of any county in the United States. If you live in the South Bay, you are never more than a short drive from one of these sites.
Is Silicon Valley a Superfund site?
But it turns out that this idyllic garden of corporate harmony sits on land that since 1989 has been a Superfund site, a designation the EPA gives some of the most contaminated or polluted land in the country. And while thousands of tons of contaminants have since been removed, it is still being cleaned up.
What is the largest Superfund site in the US?
About the Hanford (USDOE) Site The 586 square mile Hanford Site is home to one of the largest Superfund cleanups in the nation. Hanford is divided into four National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
What is the dark side of Silicon Valley?
Alongside high-tech businesses and the accompanying high paid salaries, Silicon Valley has one of the highest concentrations of toxic waste sites in the US.
Why is Silicon Valley located where it is?
Silicon Valley is called Silicon Valley because of sand. Many companies manufacturing computer chips (like Intel) were either operating or headquartered throughout the region, now known as Silicon Valley back, in 1971. The first ingredient in the manufacturing process of computer chips happens to be – sand.