PFAS in Semiconductor Manufacturing: Why “Forever Chemicals” Are Becoming a Strategic Challenge

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are an emerging environmental and regulatory challenge facing the semiconductor industry. The complication is that PFAS (also called forever chemicals) are not incidental to chip manufacturing—they are engineered into it.

Hundreds of PFAS compounds appear across semiconductor fabrication processes, valued for their durability and stability under extreme manufacturing conditions. Yet those same characteristics are driving increasing scrutiny from regulators, customers, and communities.

For semiconductor manufacturers, the question is no longer whether PFAS will require greater attention—it’s how quickly companies can understand and manage their exposure. Organizations that begin building that understanding today will be far better positioned for what comes next.

The sections below explore why PFAS are essential to semiconductor fabrication, how regulatory and environmental pressures are evolving, and how manufacturers can begin planning their path forward.

Why PFAS Are Essential to Modern Chips

To understand why PFAS present a challenge for the semiconductor industry, it helps to start with the role these compounds play in modern chip manufacturing. PFAS exist in semiconductor fabrication for a reason: their chemistry optimizes process and performance few other chemistries can handle. These compounds are defined by an exceptionally strong carbon fluorine bond, which gives them unusual durability and chemical stability.

In semiconductor production, that stability provides several critical advantages:

• Resistance to aggressive chemicals, solvents, and high temperatures
• Low surface energy that prevents interference with delicate processes
• Durability across hundreds of sequential fabrication steps

Chip fabrication environments often involve strong acids, oxidizers, and plasma processes that would degrade most materials. PFAS compounds maintain their integrity under these conditions, protecting equipment and helping ensure process consistency at the nanometer scale where modern chips are produced.

For now, this makes PFAS largely inseparable from semiconductor manufacturing. So, why is the risk landscape changing?

Why the Risk Landscape Is Changing

While PFAS provide technical advantages, they also present environmental and regulatory challenges. These chemicals are highly persistent—earning them the nickname “forever chemicals”—because they do not break down or break down extremely slowly in the environment and biological systems. Some PFAS compounds have been linked to health concerns including immune system disruption and certain cancers.

As a result, regulatory and legal pressures are increasing globally. Recent litigation settlements demonstrate the scale of financial risk associated with PFAS contamination. 3M agreed to settle drinking water contamination claims for up to $12.5 billion, while DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva reached a $1.185 billion settlement.^1,2

At the same time, regulation continues to evolve. Even where federal enforcement may shift, state-level regulations are advancing independently, with at least 20 U.S. states establishing standards for one or more PFAS compounds in drinking water. International regulations—from the EU’s REACH framework to emerging requirements in Japan and Taiwan—add additional layers of compliance complexity.

For semiconductor manufacturers, the implications could be significant. Wastewater streams from chip fabrication can contain PFAS concentrations exceeding regulatory thresholds, and global investments to treat semiconductor and electronics wastewater could reach $16.5 to $50 billion annually by 2035 using current waste management and water treatment technologies.³

“You can’t manage PFAS effectively until you understand what’s actually in your system. Measurement and characterization are the foundation for any meaningful strategy.”