Albuquerque Journal
By Aaron Baca
December 14, 2000
Intel Corp.'s plant near Albuquerque — one of the state's largest industrial water users — has plans to reduce its water consumption by more than 200 million gallons a year, according to the company's newest environmental and safety report.
Intel says it developed new processes and technology last year to reclaim water it uses in its computer chipmaking lines that should yield huge water savings at its local plant.
The new technology, which Intel calls Process Reclaim Water, should help Intel steady its water use at present levels of about 4 million gallons a day — even after it finishes its $2 billion expansion of its giant Fab 11 production line.
"Each new generation of technology is better than the previous generation — using less water, generating fewer air emissions and creating less waste per unit of production," Intel's Environmental, Health and Safety Report 2000 states.
The report is compiled by Intel and published every year to show how the company is doing with various environmental, safety and health issues.
"We do it to track our progress and to show some of our improvements," said Jim Casciano, Intel's environmental, health and safety manager in Rio Rancho.
"We have a policy and a commitment to being open and honest with the community. This report helps us do that."
The current report details the company's efforts in 1999 and sets goals for 2000. The next report, which will cover 2000, won't be published until mid-year 2001.
The 200 million gallons of saved water would go a long way toward helping Intel achieve the conservation goals it spells out in the new report.
Water conservation, coincidentally, is the one goal out of eight spelled out in last year's report that Intel failed to achieve with total success.
According to the report, Intel set out to increase its water conservation from 48 percent to more than 50 percent by the end of 1999. During that year, Intel actually slid somewhat — ending the year with a 47 percent conservation rate.
"We experienced additional technical problems with implementation of the High Recovery Reverse Osmosis Process," the company's report states.
Casciano said setting up equipment and calibrating it correctly simply took longer than expected. The process, however, is fully operational now, he said.
The osmosis process referred to was supposed to go on line at the plant in 1998 but was delayed until 1999.
For the current year, Intel says it plans to use its new water reclamation process and the osmosis system to reach a water conservation rate of 53 percent.
Water conservation is one of nine goals the company has spelled out for 2000. Intel's other objectives are:
* Assist contractors at its site to reduce their recordable injury rate by 30 percent.
* Recycle at least 65 percent of solid waste at the Rio Rancho plant.
* Adopt an incident- and injury-free philosophy uniformly throughout the Rio Rancho plant.
* Develop a useful Web site for the New Mexico Association of Occupational Health Nurses; and support various environmental projects as community services.
* Reduce recordable injuries at the plant by 20 percent from 1999.
* Implement the plant's new minor-source air permit and complete testing and reporting requirements for the permit.
* Help employees implement health and safety improvements at home that have proved successful at Intel's plant.
The list of goals for 2000 is meant to be an extension of the work the company completed in 1999.
Aside from its water conservation goal, Intel completed, or exceeded, its seven other goals in 1999.
For instance, Intel surpassed its goal of reducing recordable injuries for which worker time was lost by 30 percent. The company says its reduced those injuries by 56 percent.
Intel also set out to help its contractors reduce their injury rates by 20 percent. According to the report, contractors at the site reduced those rates by 61 percent compared with 1998.
In 1999, Intel won a Green Zia award for environmental excellence from the New Mexico Environment Department.
In addition to increasing water conservation and winning its Green Zia, Intel counts the issuance by the state environment department of a minor-source air permit for Intel as one of its biggest accomplishments in 1999 (even though the permit was actually issued in March of this year).
The new permit lowers the limits of air emissions Intel's plant can generate.
The permit limits Intel's statewide emissions of volatile organic compounds to less than 100 tons annually — a 70 percent decrease.
The permit also reduces limits on combustion emissions such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by about 20 percent. Hazardous air pollutants, which were not limited under the company's previous permit, are now limited to 24 tons per year — with no more than 9 tons of any particular pollutant.
Other work Intel says it completed in 1999 includes volunteer work on the Rio Rancho Bosque Improvement Project.
At its campus, Intel finished work on traffic and pedestrian safety projects that were identified in the company's site plan for the Rio Rancho campus.
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