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On July 1st, Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor Company and Storage Products Company consolidated to form Semiconductor & Storage Products Company.This page describes previous Semiconductor Company's environmental activities.

Phased out substances

Reduction of hazardous substances (Toshiba Semiconductor Company's voluntary plans)

As a direct result of its first two voluntary plans for the reduction of hazardous substances, collectively called Plan 33/50, Toshiba Semiconductor Company reduced its usage of 21 targeted hazardous substances by 90% by weight in 2000 as compared to 1988. Toshiba Semiconductor Company's third voluntary plan, Plan N30-5, was implemented between 2001 and 2005, and achieved and exceeded its goals for the reduction in usage of 46 designated hazardous substances. The fourth voluntary plan is now in progress.

No. Material name Year Remarks
1. Trichloro ethylene (TCE) -1989

 

2. CFCs -1991 ODS(1)
3. Tetrachloro ethylene (PCE) -1991

 

4. 1.1.1-Trichloro ethane(TCA) -1993 ODS(1)
5. Carbon tetrachloride -1994 ODS(1)
6. PBBs -1994 RoHS(2)
7. PBDEs -1994 RoHS(2)
8. Methylene chloride -1999

 

9. Hydrazine -2001

 

10. Ethylene based glycol ethers -2001

 

Note:
  1. ODS (Substances that potentially deplete the Ozone layer.)
    ODS are regulated under the "Law concerning the Protection of the Ozone Layer through the Control of Specified Substances and Other Measures (JAPAN)", and Montreal Protocol.
  2. RoHS
    Substances restricted by the EU DIRECTIVE 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances (RoHS Directive)
    penta-bromobyphenyl, octa-bromobyphenyl, deca-bromobyphenyl, etc. are included in the PBBs, and penta-bromodiphenyl ether, octa-bromodiphenyl ether, deca-bromodiphenyl ether etc. are included in PBDEs.

Plan 33/50 (1988-2000)

Plan 33/50 encompasses Toshiba Semiconductor Company's first and second voluntary plans for the reduction of hazardous substances. This plan was initially created with reference to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) voluntary pollution prevention initiative, announced in early 1991 and also called 33/50. Like the EPA's plan, the initial goals of Plan 33/50 were to reduce the total combined weight of Toshiba Semiconductor Company's usage of certain designated hazardous substances by 33% in 1992 and by 50% in 1995 from the baseline usage in 1988. The plan was named after these target values, 33% and 50%.

The substances targeted by Toshiba Semiconductor Company's Plan 33/50 included not only the seventeen high-priority chemical groups selected by the EPA, but an additional four types voluntarily selected for reduction, namely: chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), arsenic and its compounds, hydrazine, and ethylene-based glycol ethers. A complete list of the 21 substances in Plan 33/50 can be found here.

Group Substance
A Benzene
Toluene
Xylenes
Methyl ethyl ketone
Methyl isobutyl ketone
B Carbon tetrachloride
Chloroform
Methylene chloride
1.1.1-Trichloroethane
Trichloroethylene
Tetrachloroethylene
C Cyanides
Cadmium and its compounds
Chromium and its compounds
Lead and its compounds
Mercury and its compounds
Nickel and its compounds
D CFCs
E Arsenic and its compounds
Hydrazine
Ethylen based glycol ethers
  • Category A, B, C: Substances listed by USEPA in its 33/50 Program
  • Category D, E: Substances voluntarily set to reduce by Semiconductor Company

After achieving and exceeding the objectives in its initial Plan 33/50 (see chart below), Toshiba Semiconductor Company determined to extend the plan by setting further goals for the reduction of the 21 targeted substances. In 1994, therefore, Toshiba Semiconductor Company created and implemented the second stage of its Plan 33/50. In this stage, Toshiba Semiconductor Company's objectives were to achieve normalized reductions of 33% by 1997 and 50% in 2000 of the weight of chemicals used per year divided by production output in yen, using 1994 as the baseline. As shown by the chart below, this normalized reduction effort also resulted in a substantial decrease in overall usage of the 21 targeted substances.

Between 1988 and 2000, Toshiba Semiconductor Company reduced its usage of the 21 targeted hazardous substances by over ninety percent (90%) by total weight. In absolute terms, this means that as a result of Plan 33/50, approximately 2300 tons (4,600,000 pounds) less of the 21 targeted chemicals were used in 2000 as compared to 1988.

Summary of Plan 33/50:
  • 21 hazardous substances targeted for usage reduction.
  • First plan: 1988 to 1995
    Goals achieved: 33% reduction in 1992 and 50% reduction in 1995 from baseline 1988 (reduction in total amount in use by weight)
  • Second plan: 1994 to 2000
    Goals achieved: 33% reduction in 1997 and 50% reduction in 2000 from baseline 1994 (reduction in normalized rate of usage: weight of 21 chemical substances used / production output in yen)
  • Results: Over 90% decrease in usage by weight of targeted substances between 1988 and 2000; reduction in usage of approximately 2300 tons of chemicals between 1988 and 2000.

Reduction of hazardous substances achieved by Plan 33/50, 1988-2000.
Reduction of hazardous substances achieved by Plan 33/50, 1988-2000.

Plan N30-5 (2001-2005)

Toshiba Semiconductor Company implemented its third voluntary plan to reduce the usage of hazardous substances, Plan N30-5, between 2001 and 2005. Plan N30-5 aimed to reduce the normalized rate (weight of chemicals used divided by production output in yen) of designated hazardous substances by thirty percent (30%) in 2005, compared to the baseline year of 2000. The plan was named after this 30% target and the five years it was anticipated to take to achieve the goal.

Toshiba Semiconductor Company's Plan N30-5 greatly expanded the hazardous substances targeted for reduction over Plan 33/50. Plan N30-5 included a base total of 46 chemical substances, which encompassed certain substances designated under Japan's PRTR1 law, the 21 substances carried over from Plan 33/50, and additional substances chosen by Toshiba Semiconductor Company. In addition, each manufacturing site of Toshiba Semiconductor Company was permitted to choose further substances to add to the list at its discretion. A complete list of the 46 substances in Plan N30-5 can be found here.

N30-5 Scheme
Substance
zinc compounds (water-soluble)
ethanolamine (2-aminoethanol)
n-alkylbenzenesulfonic acid and its salts (alkyl C=10-14)
antimony and its compounds
polymer of 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol and 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane (liquid); bisphenol A type epoxy resin (liquid)
ethylene glycol
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
xylene
silver and its water-soluble compounds
chromium and chromium(III) compounds
chromium(VI) compounds
chloroform
cobalt and its compounds
2-ethoxyethyl acetate; ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate
inorganic cyanide compounds (except complex salts and cyanates)
2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane; HCFC-123
N,N-dimethylformamide
copper salts (water-soluble, except complex salts)
trichlorofluoromethane; CFC-11
toluene
lead and its compounds
lead and its compounds (high temperature solder)
nickel (metal)
nickel compounds
arsenic and its inorganic compounds
hydrazine
pyrocatechol
phenol
hydrogen fluoride and its water-soluble salts
beryllium and its compounds
boron and its compounds
poly(oxyethylene) nonylphenyl ether
formaldehyde
tri-n-butyl phosphate
ammonia (liquid)
ammonia (gas)
methanol
hydrochloric acid (gas)
hydrochloric acid (liquid)
chlorine
sulfuric acid
ethyl acetate
methylisobutylketone
HFC (HFC-23 : eliminate CHF3)
HCFC (eliminate HCFC-123)
methylethyl ketone

Results: By 2005, Toshiba Semiconductor Company exceeded the goals of Plan N30-5, achieving a 37% reduction in the normalized rate (weight of chemicals used divided by production output in yen) of the 46 hazardous substances, compared to 2000. This 37 percent normalized reduction translated to 28 percent absolute reduction in usage by weight of the 46 substances.

Notes:

  1. This refers to Japan's Law Concerning Reporting, etc. of Releases to the Environment of Specific Chemical Substances and Promoting Improvements in Their Management (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register or "PRTR").
  2. Perfluoro compounds (PFCs) were not included in Plan N30-5 because these chemicals were separately targeted for reduction under an international agreement of the semiconductor industry associations in the U.S., Europe, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. The industry associations determined to reduce PFCs 10% by 2010 for the baseline year of 1995. This PFC reduction goal is addressed by our CR Econology Project.

On July 1st, Toshiba Corporation's Semiconductor Company and Storage Products Company consolidated to form Semiconductor & Storage Products Company.This page describes previous Semiconductor Company's environmental activities.

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