Soil and Groundwater Purification
Toshiba Group studies the situation of soil and groundwater contamination at production sites and implements purification measures. We also implement safety measures for environmental equipment in order to prevent contamination and to reduce the risks posed by chemical substances. We conducted a simultaneous study of all sites and found contamination at 10 sites. At the contaminated sites, purification of contamination by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is underway, and we are monitoring the contamination level. VOCs in groundwater are collected and removed primarily by the water pumping method.
We focus on high VOC concentration areas for purification by water pumping. As purification progresses and the VOC concentration falls in these areas, we shift more intensive pumping to areas with relatively high VOC concentrations. In FY2022, we collected 99.6kg of VOCs. This is a decrease of about 55% from the previous fiscal year, which can be attributed to the drastic purification measures implemented during land development, the shift from pumping to in-situ purification, and the gradual decrease in VOC concentration (i.e., VOC retrieval) due to previous purification efforts.
We will continue to implement soil and groundwater purification measures using methods appropriate for the laws, regulations, and the state of development of purification technology. Meanwhile, we will proactively communicate with local governments and communities by, for example holding purification facility tours.
| Production sites | Location | Progress in purification | Purification method*1 | Amount collected*2(kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former site of Asia Electronics Inc.'s Yokohama Operation Center | Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture | Being monitored*3 | A,E,G | － |
| Toshiba Corporation Komukai Complex | Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture | Purification in progress | A,G | 4.249 |
| Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation Himeji Operations-Semiconductor |
Taishi Town, Ibo County, Hyogo Prefecture | Being monitored (North district) | D,F,G |
－ |
| Purification in progress (South district) | A,F | 61.6 | ||
| Japan Semiconductor Corporation Oita Operations |
Oita, Oita Prefecture | Being monitored | G | － |
| Kawamata Seiki Corporation | Kawamata Town, Date County, Fukushima Prefecture | Purification in progress | A | Less than 0.01 |
| Former site of Toshiba Shomei Precision Corporation's Kawasaki Works | Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture | Being monitored | A,B,F | － |
| Former site of Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation's Iwase Works | Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture | Purification in progress | A |
0.03 |
| Lighting Device & Fixture Corporation Ibaraki Plant |
Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture | Being monitored | A,B |
0.27 |
| Former site of former Toshiba Components Co., Ltd. Kimitsu Operation Center | Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture | Purification in progress | A,B,F | 33.7 |
| Production sites | Location | Progress in purification | Purification method*1 | Amount collected*2(kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former site of Asia Electronics Inc.'s Yokohama Operation Center | Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture | Being monitored*3 | A,E,G | － |
| Toshiba Corporation Komukai Complex | Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture | Purification in progress | A,G | 4.249 |
| Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation Himeji Operations-Semiconductor |
Taishi Town, Ibo County, Hyogo Prefecture | Being monitored (North district) | D,F,G |
－ |
| Purification in progress (South district) | A,F | 61.6 | ||
| Japan Semiconductor Corporation Oita Operations |
Oita, Oita Prefecture | Being monitored | G | － |
| Kawamata Seiki Corporation | Kawamata Town, Date County, Fukushima Prefecture | Purification in progress | A | Less than 0.01 |
| Former site of Toshiba Shomei Precision Corporation's Kawasaki Works | Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture | Being monitored | A,B,F | － |
| Former site of Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation's Iwase Works | Sakuragawa, Ibaraki Prefecture | Purification in progress | A |
0.03 |
| Lighting Device & Fixture Corporation Ibaraki Plant |
Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture | Being monitored | A,B |
0.27 |
| Former site of former Toshiba Components Co., Ltd. Kimitsu Operation Center | Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture | Purification in progress | A,B,F | 33.7 |
*1 Purification method:
(A) groundwater pumping, (B) soil gas suction, (C) reduction decomposition, (D) oxidation decomposition, (E) interception containment, (F) removal by excavating soil, and (G) bio-activation.
*2 Amount collected:
Amount collected from April 2022 to March 2023
*3 Monitoring of the contamination level after engineering work to remove contamination or the purification procedure is complete.