TSMC is committed to the common good, the ecological environment and sustainable development, and has established an “Environmental Laboratory” to monitor pollutant emissions and improve the efficiency of treatment facilities. In addition to monitoring waste air emission and air quality of surrounding areas around the factory in 2022, the Environmental Laboratory introduced the “Effluents and Water Quality Management for Scrubbers” and performs regular inspections to ensure that the effluents comply with regulatory standards, and that air pollution treatment facilities operate stably with high efficiency. To carry out the commitments of TSMC’s Environmental Policy, as of June 2023, the Environmental Laboratory inspected all the stacks in Taiwan, and emission from 98.5% of the stacks were better than the baseline standards of the Company’s internal controls.

Accelerating Pollution Control Improvement with Baseline Management and Pollutant Source Tracing

Inorganic acids, alkalis and volatile organics can be produced and emitted with waste gases from semiconductor processes. TSMC uses two strategies, “effective reduction of source emissions” and “strengthened management of terminal prevention facilities”, to control air pollution at the source. In order to ensure TSMC’s air pollution treatment facilities stay highly efficient, the Environmental Laboratory was established in 2019 to further strengthen stack emission monitoring and management. The Facility Division and Corporate Environment Safety and Health Division collaborated to establish the “Management Mechanism for Stack Emission Baseline” by gathering data on emission concentration levels at stack emissions and setting standards for concentration levels for a range of pollutants that are stricter than regulatory standards to identify stacks needing improvement. To shorten the improvement period, the Environmental Laboratory developed additional monitor capabilities to identify pollutant sources and strengthen improvement effects.

For water pollution monitoring, the Environmental Laboratory set up 29 monitor items (one item for ammonia nitrogen, five items for cations and anions, 23 items for metals) to collect and establish a water pollutant baseline, ensure pollutant levels below regulatory standards and prevent secondary contamination emissions from scrubber washing water.

TSMC continues to actively strengthen the monitoring capabilities of the Environmental Laboratory, and plans to develop technologies to monitor the greenhouse gas removal efficiency of local scrubbers and PFAS monitoring in effluents in 2023. By monitoring pollutant concentrations and managing the pollution treatment efficiency to reduce pollutant emissions, TSMC is meeting its commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.