Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

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The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, also known as SVTC, is a San Jose, California based research and advocacy group that promotes safe environmental practices in the high tech industry. The organization was founded in 1982 after leaks at manufacturing sites at IBM and Fairchild Electronics were suspected of causing widespread birth defects and health issues in the Silicon Valley^[1].

The group is composed of high tech workers, community members, law enforcement, emergency workers and environmentalists. They aim to educate the masses on best practices for computer recycling and promote corporate social responsibility from technology companies. In April of 2008, they released a report, "Regulating Emerging Technologies in Silicon Valley and Beyond," which articulates the state of the nanotechnology industry and calls for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better regulate emerging technologies.

Ted Smith, author of Challenging the Chip, founded the organization, but Sheila Davis now spearheads their efforts.

1 Reports
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Reports

In 2004, SVTC released a report entitled "Poison PCs and Toxic TVs" that details the growing piles of e-waste in the U.S., the toxics contained in the computers and monitors and hazards of improper disposal.

In 2006, SVTC released a report exposing the abuse of prison labor in the e-waste recycling industry. For the first time, prison inmates and staff blow the whistle on deplorable health and safety conditions within UNICOR, a controversial government corporation operated under the Dept. of Justice that uses captive prison labor in a range of industries, including the dismantling of toxic e-waste.

In April 2008, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition released a report regarding the nanotechnology boom and how it mirrors the Silicon Valley semiconductor boom of the early 1980's. According to the report, further studies, legal structure, and safety should be required of nanotechnology companies.²