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Silicon Valley Composite image of GeoTracker map showing toxic waste sites. Geotracker uses Google images.
Silicon Valley Toxic Waste Sites Map
Category: Silicon Valley Superfund Sites
Apple is located on GE Intersil Superfund site that received radiological isotope Kr 85 from the DOE
Page 2.4 Item number 53.
G. E. Intersil Inc.
10710 North Tantau Avenue
Cupertino, CA 95014
Given that the Superfund site is the G. E. Intersil site, this associates it with the San Jose G. E. nuclear reactor assembly plant where they were assembling portable nuclear reactors for the US Army, a project started in the mid 1950s when radiological contamination levels were very relaxed and when they were strengthened in 1959 to 1/3 of what they were before, so all of these reactors were too hot for safe use. The entire program was scrapped by 1965. But this program required a large amount of new electronics and this brought about the beginnings of Silicon Valley.
Unfortunately for the people of San Jose they were dumping waste directly into the sewer system using 1955 standards which are nuclear accidents today. That is the problem with nuclear radiation, the clean up standards of the past, including the most recent past have been less and less radiation so that a site cleaned up 25 years ago is an accident today!
These were portable nuclear reactors that you could put on a truck, a transport plane, a ship or a train and bring it to a military site that had a deep pool with all of the necessary hook ups to set up a nuclear reactor to power the base or for colleges and universities. These reactors had no meaningful shields and were a serious radiological hazard to modern specifications.
San Jose CA – GE Nuclear Fuel Processing Facility at The Plant Shopping Center
There were several other portable nuclear reactor plants in the Bay Area, two I featured in this article Two nuclear reactors sites, 369 Whisman Road Mountainview (now Google) and San Ramon CA where the EPA should also look into assessing the damage to the environment and the people who now live within range of those reactor sites. The 369 Whisman Road reactor site had a high curb surrounding the building to contain the radioactive waste!
The EPA has regulations on conducting radiological surveys for sites and basically everything within 200 feet of a site is considered on the site, that goes for chemical contamination as well as radiological. DTSC has interpreted this to mean the property lines of toxic waste sites but the EPA has different rules. Then there is the distance from the contamination to a quarter of a mile is considered a near neighbor and the distance from a quarter of a mile to a mile is also a near neighbor but with a different set of calculations. The danger is evaluated based on the population near a site so in the case of Apple, this could be a big problem for them. How many people work in their Wheel?
The Federal Law, 40 CFR Appendix A to Part 300 – The Hazard Ranking System which is used to determine if a site is subject to Superfund status, the range of contamination goes out to various distances from the exact contamination site.
It depends on what happened to the Kr 85 which is a Byproduct Material, meaning it came out of a nuclear reactor and cannot be dumped in low level radiation facilities but would have to be disposed of most likely in the Nevada Test Site.
In order to use an isotope like this, the facility would require a hot cell which is a device or room to store radiological isotopes usually with mechanical hands to remove the isotope from the container and use it in whatever industrial process GE was using at the time and the necessary Geiger counter device to measure the Beta radiation from this isotope. It has a half life of 10 years so its still hot. Some hot cells are portable and look like aquariums or those isolated rooms with hands you see in movies or TV shows.
I outline the distances using San Francisco as an example showing the ranges of contamination that can result from Chemical, Biological and Radiological contamination in this article:
“Downtown San Francisco within Contamination Range of Treasure Island Atomic, Biological and Chemical Warfare training sites”
If the radiation was used on a device that has since decomposed in the soil, then you have the larger ranges of water and air contamination that can go out 4 miles from the site.
The Question is, does the EPA know that the isotope was used on the site. Given the other sites in the Bay Area I would give my opinion as to say no, but this will have to be looked into.
If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had done its job, then there would be a set of inspections and a series of surveys to confirm the radiological isotopes were disposed of property and how they were used.
Two nuclear reactors sites, 369 Whisman Road Mountainview (now Google) and San Ramon CA
ATL Job 5164 ATL-D-619 7 June 1961Page 46
SUMMARY REPORT ON THE HAZARDS
OF THE UTR TEST REACTOR
ATL Job 5164
ATL-D-619
7 June 1961
Google currently occupies the location where American Standard built portable nuclear reactors that were sent overseas in trade shows for the Atomic Energy Commission and for colleges and universities. The AEC shut down the facility because it was located in a densely populated area and given the accidents from these reactors and that the location had no shielding or even containment for the radioactive gasses and radioactive water, it was decided to pull the plug on the reactors. They had two reactors on site and built these reactors for other entities:
Iowa State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute / North Carolina State college
Australia (Atomic Energy Commission)
Japan (Kinki University) Osaka
Japan (Tokai University)
ATL Job 5164 ATL-D-619 7 June 1961 Page 27
From the report page 6:
“B. Reactor Building
The reactor will be housed in an existing 20′ x 32′ x 14′ eave height steel frame
reactor building. The building is supported on a reinforced concrete foundation and has corrugated steel walls and roof and a concrete floor sealed with Amercoat. A concrete curb around the base of the building will prevent run off of radioactive water. Gas-tight construction has not been provided. Entry to the building is provided by two sliding doors, which may be locked with a padlock. A stairway provides access to the top of the reactor. A one-ton electric hoist is available for removing the concrete closures from the reactor”
Note the curb around the building to prevent run off of radioactive water and the padlock on the door for security. Remember this is for two nuclear reactors.
This reactor type was based on the Argonne reactor which had some serious defects causing a melt down.
GOOGLE – 1400 NORTH SHORELINE BOULEVARD (T10000006049)
The project is a redevelopment property within the Teledyne-Spectraphysics (T-S) plume with underlying groundwater probably impacted by the upgradient T-S source properties. The developer plans to construct the building wiht a vapor intrusion mitigation system (VIMS) and water barrier. Indoor air testing will be conducted to verify that the VIMS is working as designed.
Envirostor (State of California)
POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN
DICHLOROETHENE (DCE), TRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE), VINYL CHLORIDE
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS – FORMER NATIONAL SEMI CONDUCTOR (SL720841216) EPA Superfund Site Santa Clara California
EPA Superfund Site Link 2900 SEMICONDUCTOR DRIVE SANTA CLARA, CA 95052
EPA Superfund Site : “The National Semiconductor Corporation (National Semiconductor) previously manufactured electronic equipment at this 50-acre site. Underground storage tanks, sumps, and pipes are the suspected sources for contaminated groundwater and soil in Sunnyvale underneath the site. Beginning in 1982, National Semiconductor closed and removed its leaking tanks and equipment, instituted a groundwater pump and treat system, and removed contaminated soil from selected areas of the facility. The contaminants of concern are primarily chlorinated organic solvents, including trichloloethene (TCE), which, along with other nearby National Priority List (NPL) sites including the Monolithic Memories Superfund Site, have contaminated a common groundwater area. Although these nearby sites are listed separately on the NPL, the cleanup activities at some of the sites are being coordinated as part of an area-wide cleanup approach.”
State of California Geotracker Site: “National Semiconductor Corporation (NSC) is located at 2900 Semiconductor Drive, Santa Clara. The NSC site is bordered by Central Expressway to the north, Kifer Road to the south, Lawrence Expressway to the east, and industrial/commercial buildings to the west. The site encompasses approximately 60 acres. Continue reading “TEXAS INSTRUMENTS – FORMER NATIONAL SEMI CONDUCTOR (SL720841216) EPA Superfund Site Santa Clara California”
HEWLETT-PACKARD (620-640 PAGE MILL ROAD) PALO ALTO, CA
Groundwater map showing extent of pollution under neighborhoods in Palo Alto
EPA Superfund Site Link 620-640 PAGE MILL RD PALO ALTO, CA 94304-1001
Geotracker State of California website link for the site
POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN
1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE (TCA), ARSENIC, TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PCE), TRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE)
Deed Restrictions: ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED WHICH DISTURB THE REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS WITHOUT APPROVAL, LAND USE COVENANT, NOTIFY DAMAGES TO REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS UPON DISCOVERY
HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY (SL720511210) – (Geotracker MAP) Map indicating toxic waste sites in as small square boxes. If you click on each square you will be directed to the State Geotracker page for that toxic waste site.
Geotracker map for 5/1/2018 showing the toxic wastes sites in the area area affected and the well sites to monitor the groundwater.
Groundwater Contamination Map, Toxic Plumes Map Source: The Chemical Legacy of Old Silicon Valley, NBC Bay Area, Map Editor Scott Pham 2019 The red dots represent Daycare centers from 2019. NBC Bay Area had a series of maps that indicated where the toxic waste sites were located and the extent of the damage encompassing vast areas of the community but they took it down. The pollution is in the groundwater so it covers a vast area in Pink.
Map Source: The Chemical Legacy of Old Silicon Valley, NBC Bay Area, Map Editor Scott Pham
Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) EPA Superfund Study Area (or MEW Site) is comprised of three Superfund sites Mountain View California
Envirostor State of California Link: “The EPA added this site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1991. This Superfund site is comprised of several former Fairchild Semiconductor Corp facilities spanning 56 acres in Mountain View. The Fairchild Semiconductor Corp – Mountain View site is one of three Superfund or NPL sites that are being cleaned up simultaneously. The other two Superfund sites are the Intel – Mountain View site and the Raytheon site. All three sites are located in the Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Study Area and are being addressed collectively as the MEW SIte. Site investigations at several of these facilities during 1981 and 1982 revealed extensive soil and groundwater contamination, primarily VOCs. Soil cleanup by soil vapor extraction, excavation, and aeration has been completed at all the MEW study area sites. Groundwater remediation is ongoing at the MEW Study Area.”
The contaminants which have been detected in soil and groundwater include trichloroethylene (TCE), trichloroethane (TCA), dichloroethylene (DCE) and chloroform. Continue reading “Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) EPA Superfund Study Area (or MEW Site) is comprised of three Superfund sites Mountain View California”
Cupertino – Apple Headquarters and Kaiser Pernamente on the INTERSIL (DTKM) (SL720641214) EPA Superfund Tri-Site
EPA Superfund Site: INTERSIL INC./SIEMENS COMPONENTS CUPERTINO, CA
Apple Computer, Kaiser Permanente Child/ado Psy and Kaiser Permanente – CDRP (Chemical dependency recovery program) are located on the EPA Superfund Tri-Site where there are toxic chemicals in the ground that emerge as toxic vapor and the deed restrictions are present to stop organizations from having hospital facilities on the site. Strange thing is Kaiser Permanente operates two facilities on the site. So I would imagine that each patient must be signing a waver when they visit the facility?
I know Apple does not have daycare at their facility they would not be stupid enough to do such a thing. I find it strange that people are willing to work on a toxic waste site. But I guess they know what they are doing. Surely Apple would inform everyone who has access to the site, including delivery drivers as they are required by the deed restrictions?
Given the Covid Epidemic it is clear that constant exposure to TCE contamination damages the immune system and may have caused the employees at Apple to be further susceptible to Covid infections. –
NIH Report: Evidence of Autoimmune-Related Effects of Trichloroethylene Exposure from Studies in Mice and Humans – https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.11782
Google Map
“The Intersil/Siemens Superfund Site includes the following three areas: 1) the former Intersil facility, located at 10900 North Tantau Avenue, Cupertino; 2) the former Siemens facility, located at 10950 North Tantau Avenue, Cupertino; and 3) the Off-Site Study Area, located north of and hydraulically downgradient from the two former facilities in Sunnyvale. Investigations conducted in the 1980s as part of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board’s (Regional Board’s) underground storage tank (UST) leak detection program found volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil on- and off-site. The primary contaminant of concern at the site is the VOC, trichloroethene (TCE).
• Former Intersil Facility – Intersil, Inc. operated at the property from 1968 to 1988 and initiated investigations in 1983. The potential sources of contamination were removed between 1986 and 1988, including waste neutralization systems, a waste solvent tank, and an above-ground chemical and hazardous waste storage area.
• Former Siemens Facility – Litronix and its successor, Siemens Microelectronics, Inc., operated at the property from 1970 to the mid-1990s. Until 1982, liquid wastes were stored in five USTs that were removed in 1982. From 1982 until cessation of operations, liquid wastes previously stored in USTs were temporarily placed in the hazardous materials storage area for off-site disposal or recycling. Investigations began in 1982 after the discovery of contaminants during the removal of the USTs.
Drinking water for Sunnyvale and Cupertino is not affected by this contamination. Calabazas Creek, an intermittent stream, is located approximately 1,500 feet east of the site. “
Geotracker State of California site:
POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN
1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE (TCA)
FREON
OTHER CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS
TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PCE)
TRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE)
Deed Restrictions:
ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED WHICH DISTURB THE REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS WITHOUT APPROVAL
DAY CARE CENTER PROHIBITED
ELDER CARE CENTER PROHIBITED
HOSPITAL USE PROHIBITED
LAND USE COVENANT
NO GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION AT ANY DEPTH WITHOUT APPROVAL
NOTIFY DAMAGES TO REMEDY AND MONITORING SYSTEMS UPON DISCOVERY
NOTIFY PRIOR TO SUBSURFACE WORK
PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR PERSONS UNDER 21 PROHIBITED
RESIDENCE USE PROHIBITED
Apple Stewart 1 on 3 Superfund sites located under 4 schools and 2 daycare centers and over 100 residences in Sunnyvale California
Apple In Sunnyvale and there are four schools and two daycares on this site which are against the rules for TCE exposure protocol which is to not have any children under the age of 21 to be exposed to these chemicals, no daycare, no adult care. This site has housing on it.
EPA Superfund Page:
The TRW Microwave, Inc. (Building 825) site is one of three sites contributing contamination to a groundwater plume in Sunnyvale, California. Former microwave manufacturing and semiconductor processing activities contaminated groundwater and soil with volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
The former TRW Microwave Superfund Site (TRW Site), part of the “Triple Site” in Sunnyvale, California, is located at 825 Stewart Drive and neighbors multiple other sites, including: the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Buildings 901/902 Thompson Place Superfund Site (AMD 901/902 Site), the AMD 915 De Guigne Drive Superfund Site (AMD 915 Site), the Philips Semiconductors Site (Philips Site; formerly Signetics Inc.), which includes the properties at 811 Arques Avenue, 440 North Wolfe Road, and facilities along Stewart Drive, and the Mohawk Laboratories Site. A groundwater plume composed of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including trichloroethene (TCE), extends from these sites more than a mile north in Sunnyvale to beyond Highway 101.
The TRW Site, together with three other operable units (OUs), was covered by a 1991 Record of Decision for the Triple Site, all located in Sunnyvale. The four OUs for the Triple Site are as follows:
(1) The AMD 901/902 Site OU;
(2) The Philips Site OU;
(3) The TRW Site OU; and
(4) The Companies Offsite Operable Unit (OOU), a commingled plume of contaminants which originated from the other three operable units (and has contributions from other sites in the area).
At the time of adoption of the 1991 Record of Decision, the OOU was defined as a 100-acre area, downgradient and north of the Triple Site in an area bounded by the Sunnyvale East Drainage Channel on the west and Santa Paula Ave. on the east, and as the area inside a 5 micrograms per liter (µg/L) contour for trichloroethene (TCE) in groundwater. Over 400 residences and at least 4 schools are present within the OOU.
The TRW Site was occupied by Aertech Industries from 1968 until it was sold to TRW Inc (TRW) in 1974. In 1987, TRW sold the facility to FEI Microwave, Inc. In 1993, FEI Microwave stopped production and in 1995 the site was acquired by Stewart Associates and leased to research and development companies until 2001. The exterior of the building was remodeled between 2001 and 2003, including demolition of part of the existing structure and construction of a new two-story building. In December 2002, TRW merged with Northrop Grumman. In 2004, the property was purchased by Pacific Landmark, and then by Hines in 2014 and then GI Partners, the current owner, in 2016. During these changes in site ownership, TRW and then Northrop Grumman retained responsibility for site cleanup.
The primary activity at the TRW Site was assembling and testing microwave components until semiconductor processing began in 1970. Primarily solvents and small quantities of acids were used in the assembly areas for semiconductors. Solvents, acids, and heavy metals were used in the fabrication areas and plating shop. The paint shop used paints and solvents.
Acid rinse water generated by the assembly processes was neutralized on-site and discharged to the City of Sunnyvale sewer system. An underground ammonia gas acid neutralization system was installed when the facility first opened. Floor drains and acid sinks in the plating shop were connected to buried plumbing that carried acid waste to the neutralization system. This system was closed in 1986, and the underground piping was sealed. The system was replaced with three aboveground tanks. Spent solvents were stored in one of four on-site underground tanks. After 1982, solvents were stored in drums and transported off-site.
Trw Microwave, Inc (Building 825) from Toxic Sites website explains the TCE contamination goes up past the highway.
Google HQ Mountain View California
A map made in 2014 by Arcadis that depicts the well locations on the site
Mountainview Voice Article on the TCE Vapor Intrusion with Map that covers the Google Site. https://www.mv-voice.com/news/2018/06/08/epa-sets-sights-on-tce-vapor-intrusion
2018 Annual Monitoring Event for the Spectra-Physics Teledyne Semiconductor
Superfund Site (the Site) comprised of the Former Teledyne Semiconductor and
Former Spectra-Physics Lasers, Inc., Sites Located in Mountain View, California
The Teledyne property is part of a two-property Superfund site along with the adjacent Spectra-Physics property.
The responsible parties (RPs) for the Teledyne/Spectra-Physics site completed a Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) study in the off-property area north of and downgradient of the site. The MNA study concluded that natural breakdown of the chlorinated volatile organic compounds of concern is occuring naturally and at the same rate as groundwater extraction. As a result, only a few of the off-property downgradient extraction wells were operating mainly to maintain hydraulic control of the plume. The RPs completed a pilot study to test the feasibility of enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) and concluded that ERD is feasible with bioaugmentation of the Shallow Zone.
Within the last five years, the RPs detected elevated source areas at the Teledyne property using high resolution technology and continuously logged and screened ERD injection well boreholes. Implementing a full-scale ERD treatability study, they have been and are currently remediating the property with groundwater-CVOC levels dropping from as much as over 80,000 ug/l to low multiples of MCLs. Several rounds of ERD injections successfully cleaned up most of the Shallow Zone at the Teledyne property and the adjacent Spring Street residential area to drinking water standards and the treatability study was even more successful in the underlying Upper and Lower Intermediate Zones.
An on-property IA VI evaluation at a SpectraPhysics property in 2004 indicated no IA-CVOC contamination above the Regional Water Board’s 2008 ESLs. More recently, the RPs also assertively evaluated potential IA VI in the off-property commercial North Bayshore and residential Spring Street areas to conclude that IA VI is not occurring in most of the commercial area and is occasionally occurring in several homes in the residential area. The RPs installed sub-slab depressurization systems in the impacted on-property commercial buildings and offered the affected residents crawl space fans to address the issue.
Google Map Reference
Geotracker document explaining the toxic groundwater plume encompassing the Googleplex with maps describing all of the toxic waste sites in the Teledyne/Spectra-Physics site (SL721281224)
POTENTIAL CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN
OTHER CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS, TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PCE), TRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE), VINYL CHLORIDE
Nine indicator chemicals were identified from approximately 30
chemicals detected in the Study Area. The nine indicator chemicals are as follows:
1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA)
1.1-dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE)
1.2-dichloroethylene (1,2-DCE)
tetrachloroethylene (PCE)
toluene
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB)
1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA)
trichloroethylene (TCE)
vinyl chloride (VC
RECORD OF DECISION, TELEDYNE SEMICONDUCTOR AND SPECTRA-PHYSICS, INC. JOINT SUPERFUND SITES MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA MARCH 22, 1991 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 9 p. 26
https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/46745.pdf
Geotracker Deed Restrictions for Teledyne/Spectra-Physics site Superfund Site Continue reading “Google HQ Mountain View California”
Disaster Area 
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