The dirty little secret behind all the powerful chips and components being produced to support modern AI functionality is hundreds of different potentially hazardous chemicals used to make GPUs, PCBs, sensors and thousands of components including batteries.
Dangerous and even carcinogenic chemicals now in use in fabricating electronics include heavy metals such arsenic, mercury and nickel as well as organic solvents such as xylenes and methyl ethyl ketones. Heavy metals are used to make batteries, LEDs, PCBs, printer inks and toners and fluorescent lamps. Solvents are used to clean ingot and wafer materials in semiconductors and semiconductor parts, where workers can be exposed.
To help put a dent in evaluating the thousands of different chemicals used in cleaning and refining chips and components during fabrication work, Apple recently worked with non-profit ChemForward to launch a new web-based screening tool to help engineers find alternatives to high-hazard chemicals, using safer, vetted alternatives. The move was touted by the Global Electronics Association as a means to increase safety for electronics workers.
Apple is one of nine consumer electronics members in ChemForward’s safer chemistry collaborative. The screening tool is free and web-based to let users search for chemicals by function. ChemForward has put a focus on PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and finding replacements.
GEA had created safety guidelines in 2022 and in 2025 developed further guidelines to safer chemicals that were used as part of the new Apple-ChemForward tool for deploying green chip cleaners. These GEA guidelines were developed with Foxconn, a product manufacturer for Apple. Some of the guidelines rely on the US EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List.
“With as many as 18 million workers involved in the production of electronics products globally, enhancing workers health and safety for those who with hazardous chemicals is a priority,” Kelly Scanlon, lead sustainability strategist at GEA, told Fierce. “It is estimate that 1,000 chemicals can be used in any one single electronics product and some of these chemicals are known to be hazardous. One of the most effective measures for reducing risks to workers is to substitute these chemicals with safer alternatives.”
GEA’s standard for green cleaners will not only protect worker safety but also reduce compliance costs and improve competitive advantage for electronics makers, Scanlon submitted.
In many electronics fabs, workers rely on cleaners and degreasers to remove contaminants, such as dust and fluids that could interfere with production. The work exposes workers to industrial solvents such as benzene, methanol, xylenes and trichloroethylene that can cause cancer and other illnesses, according to the Clean Electronics Production Network and other sources.