Apple's Secret Silicon Fab Next to Thousands of Homes
In 2015, Apple began semiconductor fabrication activities in a facility located at 3250 Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara California. The building is less than two hundred feet from thousands of homes, a public park, and a children's playground. For years, Apple knowingly vented its exhaust of solvent vapors and toxic gases straight from the roof and into the ambient outdoor air, with little or no abatement. Further, the factory was only one story, while the apartments were four to five stories tall, nearly ensuring the factory exhaust created a lingering vapor plume that would enter the apartments through windows and the 'fresh air intake' vents.
Gjovik lived at these apartments in 2020 and found herself in the emergency room within one week, disabled by symptoms of solvent and gas exposure. Later in 2020, Gjovik conducted air testing and bio-monitoring which found the presence of Apple's factory exhaust inside her home, and inside her body.
Gjovik initially suspected her exposure to chemicals was due to the Brownfield clean-up site the apartments were built on, and/or the Superfund chemical plume historically under the apartments, however the known concentrations did not provide a plausible explanation for the severity of her symptoms with any of the possible vectors.
In February 2023, while reviewing Public Records Act request documents, Gjovik discovered the semiconductor fabrication activities at 3250 Scott Blvd. She began researching the facility and found more and more evidence that it was actually Apple who made her sick in 2020. Apple made her so sick she thought she was dying (and apparently she was, and could have died).
Read Gjovik's June 12 2023 tip and complaint to the US EPA about the site.
You can also review the US EPA's April 30 2024 Enforcement & Compliance inspection report summarizing what they found when they conducted formal inspections based on Gjovik's tips.
Gjovik lived at these apartments in 2020 and found herself in the emergency room within one week, disabled by symptoms of solvent and gas exposure. Later in 2020, Gjovik conducted air testing and bio-monitoring which found the presence of Apple's factory exhaust inside her home, and inside her body.
Gjovik initially suspected her exposure to chemicals was due to the Brownfield clean-up site the apartments were built on, and/or the Superfund chemical plume historically under the apartments, however the known concentrations did not provide a plausible explanation for the severity of her symptoms with any of the possible vectors.
In February 2023, while reviewing Public Records Act request documents, Gjovik discovered the semiconductor fabrication activities at 3250 Scott Blvd. She began researching the facility and found more and more evidence that it was actually Apple who made her sick in 2020. Apple made her so sick she thought she was dying (and apparently she was, and could have died).
Read Gjovik's June 12 2023 tip and complaint to the US EPA about the site.
You can also review the US EPA's April 30 2024 Enforcement & Compliance inspection report summarizing what they found when they conducted formal inspections based on Gjovik's tips.
| US EPA RCRA - Apple Inc - 2024 04 30 - Inspection Report - 3250 Scott Santa Clara - No Attachments |
The first download is the inspection report and photos without the US EPA's attachments. This version is 6.3 MB and 52 pages.
| US EPA RCRA - Apple Inc - 2024 04 30 - Inspection Report - 3250 Scott Santa Clara - With All Attachments |
The second download is the inspection report and photos with all of the US EPA's attachments. This version is 47 MB and 319 pages.
Gjovik's June 2023 US EPA Complaint:
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3250 Scott Blvd & the Santa Clara Square Apartments
The Secret Silicon Fab Plant (3250 Scott Blvd)
Quoted from Fourth Amended Complaint in: Ashley Gjovik v. Apple Inc., 23-cv-04597-EMC (N.D. Cal. May 20 2024).
Decision and Order approving the two toxic torts to move forward: Order (May 20 2024).
Decision and Order approving the two toxic torts to move forward: Order (May 20 2024).
In early 2015, Apple started stealth semiconductor fabrication activities in a facility located at 3250 Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara, California. Like some sort of Skunkworks, Apple codenamed the facility “ARIA” and even tried to use the codename on regulatory paperwork.
The ARIA semiconductor fabrication facility operated less than three hundred feet from thousands of homes where Gjovik lived in 2020. Also within 300 from the building were two public parks (Creekside Park and Meadow Park), picnic tables, outdoor fitness stations, and a children’s playground. Within 1,000 feet of ARIA there was also a church, a school, an elder care facility, and the San Tomas Aquino Creek and public trail. (San Tomas Aquino Creek flows to the Bay and then into the Pacific Ocean).
Apple intentionally vented its fabrication exhaust – unabated – and consisting of toxic solvent vapors, gases, and fumes – into the ambient outdoor air. The factory was one story, while the apartments were four stories tall, creating a high likelihood that Apple’s factory exhaust entered the interior air of the apartments through open windows and the 'fresh air intake' vents.
Apple was fully aware of this facility and its operations, including the vast amount of hazardous materials and hazardous waste, as every year, Apple submitted a financial assurance document to the Santa Clara Fire Department and HazMat agency, which detailed hazardous waste treatment and disposal operations, and is personally signed by Apple’s Chief Financial Officer, Luca Maestri – including affixing a company seal. Each financial assurance filing also attached a detailed confirmation letter from Apple’s third-party auditor, E&Y, on behalf of Apple. Maestri was also on the email distribution list for notification of hazardous waste violations at the facility.
Upon initiating operations at ARIA, Apple was quickly cited for building, environmental, health, safety, and fire code violations in at least 2015 (stop work order due to construction without permits), 2016 (spill of cooling water into storm drains, fire code and CalASPA violations, health and safety code violations, failure to properly monitor wastewater discharge), 2019 (wastewater testing violations), 2020 (fire code violations, using two EPA identification numbers, inaccurate hazmat inventory data, no spill plans or training, no business permit, no signature from supervisor on records, and failure to properly monitor wastewater discharge again).
In February 2020, Gjovik moved into a large, new apartment complex at 3255 Scott Blvd (adjacent to ARIA) and quickly became severely ill. Gjovik suffered severe fainting spells, dizziness, chest pain, palpitations, stomach aches, exhaustion, fatigue, and strange sensations in her muscles and skin. Gjovik also suffered bradycardia (slow heart rate), volatile blood pressure with both hypertension and hypotension and a high frequency of premature ventricular contractions (an arrhythmia). From February 2020 through September 2020, Gjovik was screened for multiple severe and fatal diseases and disorders, including Multiple Sclerosis, brain tumors, deadly arrhythmias, and Neuromyelitis Optica – instead, all of Gjovik’s symptoms were consistent with chemical exposure. Due to the solvent exposure, Gjovik also suffered skin rashes, burns, and hives, and her hair fell out and she had a shaved head for nearly a year as the bald patches slowly grew back.
Due to the sudden illness, Gjovik visited the Emergency Room on February 13 2020, and Urgent Care (at AC Wellness, Apple’s for-profit in-house clinic) on February 20 2020. Gjovik subsequently consulted with dozens of doctors, who screened her for all sorts of diseases, subjecting Gjovik to extensive blood draws, urine samples, injections, and scans – including potentially dangerous procedures like MRI and CT scans with contrast, of which Gjovik had multiple. Gjovik was too sick to work and went on disability.
Gjovik transitioned her medical care to a different clinic and provider after her Apple primary care provider at AC Wellness refused to help her triage her 2020 medical issues (due to exposure to Apple’s factory exhaust). Instead she suggested Gjovik could be suffering from anxiety, and enrolled Gjovik in an Apple internal user study related to blood pressure, requiring Gjovik share her iPhone medical and fitness data with Apple, and participate in weekly life coaching sessions (while being exposed to Apple’s solvent vapor and gas exhaust).
While sick in 2020, Gjovik would wake up occasionally at 3 AM feeling like she was dying and with symptoms of heart failure and asphyxia. Heart monitoring showed arrhythmias, bradycardia, and low blood pressure. On September 2 2020, Gjovik discovered elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) in her indoor air. What immediately captured Gjovik’s attention was the arge spike in VOCs had occurred the night prior, around 3 AM, while she had been suffering from one of these “dying” spells.
Gjovik sought out multiple occupational and environmental exposure doctors, who told Gjovik that all of her symptoms were consistent with solvent and other chemical exposures. After Gjovik discovered her medical issues at the apartment were due to a chemical emergency, Gjovik quickly filed complaints with Santa Clara City HazMat/Fire Department, California EPA DTSC and Air Resources Board, and US EPA. She also called Poison Control, who said what she described also sounded like Benzene exposure. (Apple reported it was exhausting Benzene into the air).
City Fire Department records for ARIA contain at least sixteen chemical spill/leak incident reports at ARIA within only three years. These incident reports included eight confirmed leaks/spills: leaks of phosphine and silane on June 1 2019 at 9:17 AM; a phosphine leak on October 21 2019 at 11:06 PM; a 17.5 PPM Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (“TEOS”) leak on July 17 2020 at 8:58 AM; a major phosphine leak on April 30 2021 at 8:29 AM (peaking at 32 PPB and 0.0001145 pounds of the gas vented into the exterior ambient air); a 5% fluorine gas leak on April 18 2022 at 10:42 AM, a Hexafluorobutadiene leak on May 29 2022 at 2:19 PM, and leaks of two unnamed toxic gases on September 20 2022 at 7:44 AM and December 21 2022 at 1:40 AM.
Notably, almost all of the reported toxic gas leaks during the time frames Gjovik had complained n 2020 that her symptoms seemed to always be the worst around 8-9 AM, 10-11 PM, and sometimes around 2-3 AM. One of the chemical spills that did not occur during those times of concern was root caused to an Apple engineer “accidently” turning on lethal fluorine gas. Similarly, another incident, the TEOS leak, was root caused to an Apple engineer accidently installing the gas for a tool “backwards.” Further, less than two weeks following the April 30 2021 phosphine leak, Apple’s manifests included sixty pounds of “vacuum filters contaminated with glass dust,” implying there may have also been a phosphine explosion.
Further, later in 2021-2022, Apple reported to the government. that in the year 2020, Apple released at least 7.8 tons (15,608 pounds) of VOCs and 260 pounds of the combustible solvent N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) into the exterior air around ARIA. Per a review of Apple’s manifests, Apple did not replace the carbon/charcoal in its exhaust system for over five years, with the first replacement occurring December 14, 2020 – only after Gjovik had notified Apple EH&S and environmental legal about what occurred to her near ARIA.
In 2022, the US EPA severely restricted the legal use of NMP as “it presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health” under TSCA. Apple also reported that in at least 2019-2021, that ARIA exhausted reportable amounts of mercury, arsenic, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde into the ambient air around the factory. Further, Apple reported to the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board that ARIA exhausted an average of 16 pounds a day of isopropyl alcohol vapors.
In September 2020, Gjovik hired an industrial hygienist to test the indoor air at her apartment. She purchased an inspection, soil testing, and a two-hour sorbent tube-based TO-17 air panel. Only half the total contaminants were accounted for in the test and the California EPA informed her that testing with Summa canisters for 24 hours is superior and would have yielded better results. Still, Gjovik’s limited testing returned results showing a number of the chemicals in use by Apple at ARIA including Acetone, Acetonitrile, Acetaldehyde, Benzene, 1,2-Dichloroethane, Ethanol, Ethylbenzene, Hexane, Isopropanol, Isopropyl toluene, Methylene Chloride, Toluene, and Xylene.
In September 2020, Gjovik set up additional air monitors to observe the levels of VOCs in her apartment next to the ARIA factory (though she was not aware of the factory exhaust at that time). The results of the data validated what Gjovik had noticed with her symptoms and ad hoc testing – that the VOCs mostly spiked early in the morning and late at night as if they were being exhausted from an automated mechanical system (which it was). Gjovik notified several Apple executives of her findings and activities, including her managers Powers.
In September 2020, Gjovik’s blood and urine medical tests returned results with industrial chemicals, including arsenic, mercury, Toluene (Hippuric Acid), and Xylenes (2-3-4 Methyl hippuric Acid. Also noteworthy are the symptoms of Gjovik’s 3 AM attacks, (including both subjective reporting and physical real-time heart monitoring) match Phosphine and Arsine gas exposure. Both Phosphine and Arsine are very dangerous, exposure can be fatal, and there are no antidotes. Apple has a significant quantity of Arsine gas on site, and Gjovik’s medical tests from September 2020, on the morning after one of the 3 AM attacks, revealed significant arsenic in her blood with no other explanation than Arsine gas exposure within the prior eight hours.
Apple’s leaks, spills, and releases were not limited to the air. Apple’s wastewater discharge monitoring repeatedly showed the presence of heavy metals and organic solvents. In 2017, the government mandated testing revealed the presence of 29 μg/L of 1,1-Dichloropropane, 24 μg/L of Trichloroethylene (“TCE”), and 6.7 μg/L of Ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE). Among other issues, it’s unclear why Apple had TCE on site but not in any of its chemical inventories, and then, in addition, why exactly Apple was pouring that TCE down the drain.
ARIA reported an average daily water usage of around 44,000 gallons per day and the sewer pipes carrying ARIA’s discharges flowed downhill and directly around the apartment where Gjovik lived in 2020. In 2020, the government had already started investigating the plumbing at her apartment as a possible vector for some unknown solvent vapor pollution.
In September 2020, Gjovik noticed an Apple facility at 3250 Scott Boulevard across the street, which was also on the Superfund groundwater plume. Gjovik mentioned the facility to Apple on at least September 8, 9, 10, and 13, 2020 – inquiring if anyone was familiar with the area because Apple had an office there. Apple EH&S and Gjovik had at least two phone calls. The woman who responded who was also actually in charge of Real Estate/EH&S teams involved in Gjovik’s Superfund office at 825 Stewart Drive (“Stewart 1”) and the activities at ARIA.
In September 2021, the Apple EH&S manager, Elizabeth, suggested that Gjovik use a special paid leave to move out of the apartment called ‘extreme condition leave’ designated for disasters. Later, in September 2021, Apple Employee Relations conferred with Elizabeth about Gjovik’s environmental concerns only hours before Gjovik was abruptly terminated.
The ARIA semiconductor fabrication facility operated less than three hundred feet from thousands of homes where Gjovik lived in 2020. Also within 300 from the building were two public parks (Creekside Park and Meadow Park), picnic tables, outdoor fitness stations, and a children’s playground. Within 1,000 feet of ARIA there was also a church, a school, an elder care facility, and the San Tomas Aquino Creek and public trail. (San Tomas Aquino Creek flows to the Bay and then into the Pacific Ocean).
Apple intentionally vented its fabrication exhaust – unabated – and consisting of toxic solvent vapors, gases, and fumes – into the ambient outdoor air. The factory was one story, while the apartments were four stories tall, creating a high likelihood that Apple’s factory exhaust entered the interior air of the apartments through open windows and the 'fresh air intake' vents.
Apple was fully aware of this facility and its operations, including the vast amount of hazardous materials and hazardous waste, as every year, Apple submitted a financial assurance document to the Santa Clara Fire Department and HazMat agency, which detailed hazardous waste treatment and disposal operations, and is personally signed by Apple’s Chief Financial Officer, Luca Maestri – including affixing a company seal. Each financial assurance filing also attached a detailed confirmation letter from Apple’s third-party auditor, E&Y, on behalf of Apple. Maestri was also on the email distribution list for notification of hazardous waste violations at the facility.
Upon initiating operations at ARIA, Apple was quickly cited for building, environmental, health, safety, and fire code violations in at least 2015 (stop work order due to construction without permits), 2016 (spill of cooling water into storm drains, fire code and CalASPA violations, health and safety code violations, failure to properly monitor wastewater discharge), 2019 (wastewater testing violations), 2020 (fire code violations, using two EPA identification numbers, inaccurate hazmat inventory data, no spill plans or training, no business permit, no signature from supervisor on records, and failure to properly monitor wastewater discharge again).
In February 2020, Gjovik moved into a large, new apartment complex at 3255 Scott Blvd (adjacent to ARIA) and quickly became severely ill. Gjovik suffered severe fainting spells, dizziness, chest pain, palpitations, stomach aches, exhaustion, fatigue, and strange sensations in her muscles and skin. Gjovik also suffered bradycardia (slow heart rate), volatile blood pressure with both hypertension and hypotension and a high frequency of premature ventricular contractions (an arrhythmia). From February 2020 through September 2020, Gjovik was screened for multiple severe and fatal diseases and disorders, including Multiple Sclerosis, brain tumors, deadly arrhythmias, and Neuromyelitis Optica – instead, all of Gjovik’s symptoms were consistent with chemical exposure. Due to the solvent exposure, Gjovik also suffered skin rashes, burns, and hives, and her hair fell out and she had a shaved head for nearly a year as the bald patches slowly grew back.
Due to the sudden illness, Gjovik visited the Emergency Room on February 13 2020, and Urgent Care (at AC Wellness, Apple’s for-profit in-house clinic) on February 20 2020. Gjovik subsequently consulted with dozens of doctors, who screened her for all sorts of diseases, subjecting Gjovik to extensive blood draws, urine samples, injections, and scans – including potentially dangerous procedures like MRI and CT scans with contrast, of which Gjovik had multiple. Gjovik was too sick to work and went on disability.
Gjovik transitioned her medical care to a different clinic and provider after her Apple primary care provider at AC Wellness refused to help her triage her 2020 medical issues (due to exposure to Apple’s factory exhaust). Instead she suggested Gjovik could be suffering from anxiety, and enrolled Gjovik in an Apple internal user study related to blood pressure, requiring Gjovik share her iPhone medical and fitness data with Apple, and participate in weekly life coaching sessions (while being exposed to Apple’s solvent vapor and gas exhaust).
While sick in 2020, Gjovik would wake up occasionally at 3 AM feeling like she was dying and with symptoms of heart failure and asphyxia. Heart monitoring showed arrhythmias, bradycardia, and low blood pressure. On September 2 2020, Gjovik discovered elevated levels of volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) in her indoor air. What immediately captured Gjovik’s attention was the arge spike in VOCs had occurred the night prior, around 3 AM, while she had been suffering from one of these “dying” spells.
Gjovik sought out multiple occupational and environmental exposure doctors, who told Gjovik that all of her symptoms were consistent with solvent and other chemical exposures. After Gjovik discovered her medical issues at the apartment were due to a chemical emergency, Gjovik quickly filed complaints with Santa Clara City HazMat/Fire Department, California EPA DTSC and Air Resources Board, and US EPA. She also called Poison Control, who said what she described also sounded like Benzene exposure. (Apple reported it was exhausting Benzene into the air).
City Fire Department records for ARIA contain at least sixteen chemical spill/leak incident reports at ARIA within only three years. These incident reports included eight confirmed leaks/spills: leaks of phosphine and silane on June 1 2019 at 9:17 AM; a phosphine leak on October 21 2019 at 11:06 PM; a 17.5 PPM Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (“TEOS”) leak on July 17 2020 at 8:58 AM; a major phosphine leak on April 30 2021 at 8:29 AM (peaking at 32 PPB and 0.0001145 pounds of the gas vented into the exterior ambient air); a 5% fluorine gas leak on April 18 2022 at 10:42 AM, a Hexafluorobutadiene leak on May 29 2022 at 2:19 PM, and leaks of two unnamed toxic gases on September 20 2022 at 7:44 AM and December 21 2022 at 1:40 AM.
Notably, almost all of the reported toxic gas leaks during the time frames Gjovik had complained n 2020 that her symptoms seemed to always be the worst around 8-9 AM, 10-11 PM, and sometimes around 2-3 AM. One of the chemical spills that did not occur during those times of concern was root caused to an Apple engineer “accidently” turning on lethal fluorine gas. Similarly, another incident, the TEOS leak, was root caused to an Apple engineer accidently installing the gas for a tool “backwards.” Further, less than two weeks following the April 30 2021 phosphine leak, Apple’s manifests included sixty pounds of “vacuum filters contaminated with glass dust,” implying there may have also been a phosphine explosion.
Further, later in 2021-2022, Apple reported to the government. that in the year 2020, Apple released at least 7.8 tons (15,608 pounds) of VOCs and 260 pounds of the combustible solvent N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) into the exterior air around ARIA. Per a review of Apple’s manifests, Apple did not replace the carbon/charcoal in its exhaust system for over five years, with the first replacement occurring December 14, 2020 – only after Gjovik had notified Apple EH&S and environmental legal about what occurred to her near ARIA.
In 2022, the US EPA severely restricted the legal use of NMP as “it presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health” under TSCA. Apple also reported that in at least 2019-2021, that ARIA exhausted reportable amounts of mercury, arsenic, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde into the ambient air around the factory. Further, Apple reported to the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board that ARIA exhausted an average of 16 pounds a day of isopropyl alcohol vapors.
In September 2020, Gjovik hired an industrial hygienist to test the indoor air at her apartment. She purchased an inspection, soil testing, and a two-hour sorbent tube-based TO-17 air panel. Only half the total contaminants were accounted for in the test and the California EPA informed her that testing with Summa canisters for 24 hours is superior and would have yielded better results. Still, Gjovik’s limited testing returned results showing a number of the chemicals in use by Apple at ARIA including Acetone, Acetonitrile, Acetaldehyde, Benzene, 1,2-Dichloroethane, Ethanol, Ethylbenzene, Hexane, Isopropanol, Isopropyl toluene, Methylene Chloride, Toluene, and Xylene.
In September 2020, Gjovik set up additional air monitors to observe the levels of VOCs in her apartment next to the ARIA factory (though she was not aware of the factory exhaust at that time). The results of the data validated what Gjovik had noticed with her symptoms and ad hoc testing – that the VOCs mostly spiked early in the morning and late at night as if they were being exhausted from an automated mechanical system (which it was). Gjovik notified several Apple executives of her findings and activities, including her managers Powers.
In September 2020, Gjovik’s blood and urine medical tests returned results with industrial chemicals, including arsenic, mercury, Toluene (Hippuric Acid), and Xylenes (2-3-4 Methyl hippuric Acid. Also noteworthy are the symptoms of Gjovik’s 3 AM attacks, (including both subjective reporting and physical real-time heart monitoring) match Phosphine and Arsine gas exposure. Both Phosphine and Arsine are very dangerous, exposure can be fatal, and there are no antidotes. Apple has a significant quantity of Arsine gas on site, and Gjovik’s medical tests from September 2020, on the morning after one of the 3 AM attacks, revealed significant arsenic in her blood with no other explanation than Arsine gas exposure within the prior eight hours.
Apple’s leaks, spills, and releases were not limited to the air. Apple’s wastewater discharge monitoring repeatedly showed the presence of heavy metals and organic solvents. In 2017, the government mandated testing revealed the presence of 29 μg/L of 1,1-Dichloropropane, 24 μg/L of Trichloroethylene (“TCE”), and 6.7 μg/L of Ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE). Among other issues, it’s unclear why Apple had TCE on site but not in any of its chemical inventories, and then, in addition, why exactly Apple was pouring that TCE down the drain.
ARIA reported an average daily water usage of around 44,000 gallons per day and the sewer pipes carrying ARIA’s discharges flowed downhill and directly around the apartment where Gjovik lived in 2020. In 2020, the government had already started investigating the plumbing at her apartment as a possible vector for some unknown solvent vapor pollution.
In September 2020, Gjovik noticed an Apple facility at 3250 Scott Boulevard across the street, which was also on the Superfund groundwater plume. Gjovik mentioned the facility to Apple on at least September 8, 9, 10, and 13, 2020 – inquiring if anyone was familiar with the area because Apple had an office there. Apple EH&S and Gjovik had at least two phone calls. The woman who responded who was also actually in charge of Real Estate/EH&S teams involved in Gjovik’s Superfund office at 825 Stewart Drive (“Stewart 1”) and the activities at ARIA.
In September 2021, the Apple EH&S manager, Elizabeth, suggested that Gjovik use a special paid leave to move out of the apartment called ‘extreme condition leave’ designated for disasters. Later, in September 2021, Apple Employee Relations conferred with Elizabeth about Gjovik’s environmental concerns only hours before Gjovik was abruptly terminated.
On February 21 2023, Gjovik discovered the semiconductor fabrication activities at ARIA. Gjovik posted on Twitter in real-time as she learned about it, expressing severe distress.[1] Until that day, Gjovik did not know it was Apple who was responsible for making her so ill in 2020. Further, until that day, Gjovik did not know the chemicals she was exposed to in 2020 were potentially lethal to human life.
Gjovik began researching the site and Apple's activities, with the findings making Gjovik feel compelled to file a formal complaint about Apple’s illegal conduct at ARIA. On June 23 2023, Gjovik filed complaints about ARIA to the US EPA, CalEPA, the city of Santa Clara, and Santa Clara County. Gjovik drafted a 28-page memo with dozens of exhibits. Gjovik also posted on Twitter that she did so and provided a public link.
The US EPA responded and took the lead on an investigation. Gjovik met with the US EPA’s RCRA Enforcement & Compliance team several times before they then inspected Apple’s factory in August 2023 and January 2024. The August 17, 2023 inspection was coded as an RCRA “Compliance Evaluation Inspection,” defined as “primarily an on-site evaluation of the compliance status of the site about all applicable RCRA Regulations and Permits.”[2] The January 16, 2024 inspection was coded as a “Focused Compliance Inspection.”[3] Gjovik is still awaiting a report on the results. The US EPA notified her they finalized the report but are currently unable to share it with her as Apple apparently declared the report of their (assumed) numerous environmental violations is Apple Confidential. Gjovik has a pending FOIA request as well.
Gjovik began researching the site and Apple's activities, with the findings making Gjovik feel compelled to file a formal complaint about Apple’s illegal conduct at ARIA. On June 23 2023, Gjovik filed complaints about ARIA to the US EPA, CalEPA, the city of Santa Clara, and Santa Clara County. Gjovik drafted a 28-page memo with dozens of exhibits. Gjovik also posted on Twitter that she did so and provided a public link.
The US EPA responded and took the lead on an investigation. Gjovik met with the US EPA’s RCRA Enforcement & Compliance team several times before they then inspected Apple’s factory in August 2023 and January 2024. The August 17, 2023 inspection was coded as an RCRA “Compliance Evaluation Inspection,” defined as “primarily an on-site evaluation of the compliance status of the site about all applicable RCRA Regulations and Permits.”[2] The January 16, 2024 inspection was coded as a “Focused Compliance Inspection.”[3] Gjovik is still awaiting a report on the results. The US EPA notified her they finalized the report but are currently unable to share it with her as Apple apparently declared the report of their (assumed) numerous environmental violations is Apple Confidential. Gjovik has a pending FOIA request as well.
Quoted from Fourth Amended Complaint in: Ashley Gjovik v. Apple Inc., 23-cv-04597-EMC (N.D. Cal. May 20 2024).
Decision and Order approving the two toxic torts to move forward: Order (May 20 2024).
2020 Video-Blog at the Apartments
I recorded some video-blogs of my experience at the apartment complex in 2020, and published a compilation on YouTube in 2022. I would not discover until 2023 that what I was experiencing was probably not vapor intrusion, it was likely Apple's silicon fab factory exhaust.
Other Violations and Issues at 3250 Scott Blvd
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References: Santa Clara Square Apartments
Documents related to the Santa Clara Square Apartments in Santa Clara city, developed and managed by The Irvine Company.
Existing Public Resources:
FOIA Request: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-R9-2021-004244)
Existing Public Resources:
- City ESA:
- EKI/2013 EIR:
- Final: Impact Sci/2015:
- Final Response Plan:
- Response Action Completion Report Phase II:
- Phase I (Apartments)
- https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/9652333140/SCSA%20Phase%20I%20Completion%20Report%2020180706.pdf
- Phase II (Apartments): https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/1200880289/Final%20SCS%20Apt%20Phase%20II%20Completion%20Report_4-15-19.pdf
- Land Use Restrictions Covenant:
- https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/7759395778/Recorded%20Land%20Use%20Covenant.pdf
- https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/1525210320/CLRRA%20for%203255%20scott%20LLC%20fully%20executed.pdf
- https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/6047320306/Signed%20LUC.pdf
- Soil Characterization Reports:
FOIA Request: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-R9-2021-004244)
- Topic: I would like to please request any reports and/or documented decisions related to the Zeta superfund site (CAD049233570) in Santa Clara, CA (R9). I cannot find any records about it other than this listing: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0900216
- Link: https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/registered/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=EPA-R9-2021-004244&type=Request
- Submitted: 05/11/2022; Granted: 06/11/2022
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Addition References and Resources
Cal EPA - CERS Profile
DTSC Envirostor - RCRA Site
US EPA - TRI, RCRA, and Clean Air Act
Santa Clara city - Public Records Request
DTSC Envirostor - RCRA Site
US EPA - TRI, RCRA, and Clean Air Act
- https://enviro.epa.gov/enviro/tri_formr_v2.fac_list?rptyear=2020&facopt=dcn&fvalue=1320219310885&fac_search=fac_beginning
- https://enviro.epa.gov/envirofacts/br/report?handlerId=CAR000278176&reportingYear=2017
- https://enviro.epa.gov/envirofacts/br/report?handlerId=CAR000278176&reportingYear=2019
- https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902620
Santa Clara city - Public Records Request
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/20-50
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-127
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-199
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-517
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-518
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-548
- https://santaclara.nextrequest.com/requests/23-1209