On the surface, the tech industry's health and environmental risks appear to be unrelated to how we use devices in our daily lives. Computers and cellphones, which rely on semiconductors and microchips to function, have become so ubiquitous that it's easy to overlook the challenges associated with their manufacture. However, the electronics business is as much about chemistry as it is about computing. In this sentiment, something was left behind by the rich industrial history of Silicon Valley... pollution.

It turns out that this ideal oasis of business harmony stands on the ground that has been a Superfund site since 1989, a designation which is given by the Environmental Protection Agency to some of the country's most contaminated or polluted soil. Thousands of tonnes of toxins have been removed since then, but the site is continuously being cleaned up.

https://qz.com/1017181/silicon-valley-pollution-there-are-more-superfund-sites-in-santa-clara-than-any-other-us-county/

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