Oregon regulators granted Intel an air quality permit for its Washington County manufacturing operations last week, a permit sidetracked in the fall of 2013 over revelations the chipmaker had been emitting fluoride for 25 years without disclosing it.
No evidence emerged that the fluoride emissions posed a health risk, but Intel’s failure to disclose the fluoride emissions worried neighbors and outraged environmentalists. Intel apologized for the problem and spent months negotiating with regulators and neighbors to win a new permit.
The company ultimately paid a $143,000 fine and reached a settlement with environmental groups that had threatened to sue.
Though Intel’s headquarters are in Santa Clara, Calif., the company’s manufacturing group is based in Hillsboro and the company crafts each new generation of microprocessors at its Ronler Acres campus south of Hillsboro Stadium. The company is wrapping up construction on a pair of massive new research factories, collectively known as D1X.