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U.S. EPA recognizes NEC Electronics America for eliminating toxic chemicals

Release Date: 05/21/2009
Contact Information: EPA: Wendy Chavez, 415/947-4248 [email protected] NEC Electronics America, Inc: Denise Garibaldi, 408/588-6620, [email protected]

Company changes manufacturing process, eliminates hazardous chemicals, saves money

(San Francisco, Calif. -- 05/21/2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today recognized NEC Electronics America, Inc. for eliminating more than 35,000 pounds of toxic chemicals from manufacturing operations at its Roseville, Calif., facility.

As part of the EPA’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program, the semiconductor manufacturer voluntarily made changes to its manufacturing process that used hazardous chemical mixtures -- eliminating more than 35,000 pounds of toxic chemicals and saving $150,000 per year.

“Changing the way a company manufactures its products doesn’t come quick or easy, yet NEC Electronics America set out to voluntarily make these changes to protect the environment,” said Jeff Scott, the Waste Management director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “NEC is providing a great example of how a company can protect both the environment and make a positive impact to the company’s bottomline.”

“NEC Electronics America has a long history in the community of Roseville, and we are proud of our ongoing and diligent efforts to protect the environment, as evidenced by this recognition from the EPA,” said Gabe Kim, vice president of manufacturing operations and plant manager, NEC Electronics America. “In addition to this recognition, the EPA has also recognized our facility with numerous environmental awards over the years, and for the past five years, our environmental management system has been ISO 14001 certified.”

In September 2007, NEC Electronics America committed to eliminating three solvents from one of its processing steps. Since then, the company has eliminated 8,070 pounds of phenol; 19,645 pounds of dichlorobenzene, and 7,366 pounds of trimethyl benzenes, and has not used any of these chemicals since September 2008.

The $150,000 annual cost savings come from a combination of factors including: eliminating the purchase of these chemicals, reducing hazardous waste disposal fees, and reducing maintenance of air treatment equipment. NEC Electronics America also set two new environmental goals as part of its environmental management system to minimize waste -- reducing the usage of calcium chloride by 1.1 million pounds and calcium hydroxide by 220,000 pounds, which are chemicals used in other semiconductor manufacturing processes.

NEC Electronics America is a member of the agency’s National Partnership for Environmental Priorities program, which encourages public and private organizations to form voluntary partnerships with EPA to reduce the use or release of toxic priority chemicals. The program’s goal is to work with industry and the public to reduce the use or release of four million pounds of priority chemicals by 2011.

For more information on the National Partnership for Environmental Priorities, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/epawaste/partnerships/npep/index.htm

NEC Electronics America, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Electronics Corporation, a leading provider of semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the broadband and communications markets; system solutions for the mobile, PC, automotive and digital consumer markets; and multi-market solutions for a wide range of consumer applications. NEC Electronics America offers local manufacturing in Roseville, Calif., and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company. In the Americas, NEC Electronics America markets and sells industrial-type active-matrix LCD modules from NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd., a global leader in innovative display technologies. More information about the products offered by NEC Electronics America can be found at www.am.necel.com.