During a fierce debate, Taiwan EPA Environmental Assessment Committee finally agreed the CTSP to expand its fifth phase construction which involved the location of TSMC’s 18-inch fab, in its fourth environmental assessment conference.

In order to ease the trepidation of the local people about the pollution from this expansion, Taiwan EPA promised they will include the health risk assessment of first and second phase of CTSP to be a evaluation item of fifth phase.

But the result was unacceptable to the environmental groups, they accused the government approved deliberately, will take further legal action.

TSMC said in a statement, the number of employees of the TSMC Taichung branch in CTSP is more than 3,400, revenue of Taichung branch last year reached more than NT $ 200 billion, accounting for 28% of company revenues, is indispensable production base for TSMC. TSMC will to invest NT$ 500 billion in the CTSP.

TSMC stressed that they will execute more complete base planning to construct most advanced and environmentally friendly plant, to accomplish sustainable growth of industry and the environment.

TSMC also pointed that the fab 15 located in the CTSP not only a high added value mega-fab, but also the most effective and sustainable green plants. Whether existing or new plant, all with high-performance equipment for water recycling and treatment of pollutants, process water recovery to maintain more than 85%.

In addition, the plant also set the local scrubber, along with a central exhaust gas scrubber and volatile organic waste zeolite filter, to minimize the impact on the environment with a multi-stage process and classification of the plant exhaust.