There doesn't seem anything more toxic than what you would find in your run-of-the-mill chemical research lab. One time I got to handle a few liters of trimethylsilylcyanide (at work, not in my garage lol), that was an exciting day in the lab.
This is but one example of articles I've read talking about how "toxic" chip fab is...and I'm like, have you seen the coal industry?
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/reevaluating-the-toxic...
> Aside from being caustic, many commonly-used chemicals are known human carcinogens. Some examples that can carry high risk are toluene, acetone, methylene chloride (DCM), xylene, chloroform, and isopropyl alcohol.
You mean paint stripper? Granted, DCM is being phased out, but I've worked with gallons of the stuff. Xylene/toluene are in spray paint. Acetone and isopropanol are literally under my bathroom sink. Acetone is straight-up not a carcinogen, and IPA is carcinogenic in the same way bacon and beer are carcinogenic. Like, technically yes, but it's not exactly methyl iodide.
> Others—like glycol ethers—may even cause reproductive harm.
You mean windex? Contains ethyl/butyl glycol ether (cellosolve).
Sure later in the article they mention mercury, cadmium, tellurium, those are pretty yucky. But how many NiCd batteries do consumers improperly dispose of every day?
Chip fab is probably no worse than your average autobody garage/paint shop combined with a metal plating facility. Yeah don't go dumping your effluents in landfills or storm drains, but we already have protocols and pipelines for chemical hygiene and waste management.
Chip fab actually has the advantage of tons of money to throw at proper chemical hygiene, unlike fossil fuel industry with razor thin margins.
Can we do something about the mining, fracking, and coal burning industries though?