Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Use

Rimer, Alan
(Black and Veatch, Raleigh, NC)

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The world’s water resources are becoming very strained. In fact it is estimated that in this century, it is likely that well over 20 percent of the world’s population will not have access to water which could be made fit for human consumption. During the fast-paced growth of the semiconductor industry over the last several decades, water has become a precious commodity. This has happened in spite of the fact that in many cases the industry has chosen to locate in arid climates where water is scarce and getting scarcer, more contaminated and harder to treat.

In this session, we will hear papers on methods of water conservation in semiconductor manufacturing and methods of tracking environmental performance, a key element in establishing water conservation programs. In this paper, we will discuss an overview of the world’s water inventory, and the inventory at the local scene where many semiconductor manufacturers are located. We will highlight how important water conservation and benchmarking really can be and have an opportunity in a roundtable to discuss these issues.

In this day and age, when those of us in the United States generally pay more for our TV cable bill each month than we do for water, we must examine water priorities. The implications for both humankind and the semiconductor industry will become evident.

Back to SESHA 24th Annual Symposium (2002)