ASE Responds To Report On Toxic Wastewater Discharged By Its Kaohsiung Plant

Semiconductor assembly and testing service provider Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has provided explanations following a Chinese-language Apple Daily report that claims the company's factory site in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan has illegally discharged industrial wastewater that contains toxic heavy metals.

In a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, ASE said that a malfunction was found in the hydrochloric acid storage process at its K7 factory on October 1, causing some acid liquid to leak into the wastewater treatment facility. The personnel who were in charge immediately acted to control the damage and fix the process on the same day. ASE claimed it did not intent to discharge wastewater in any way that is against the regulation.

ASE noted the company is aggressively improving its wastewater treatment facility and strengthening the internal control of the process. Except for the incident on October 1, both internal and external investigations have not uncovered any abnormal situation in the wastewater discharge since September 2012.

ASE added it remains focused on sustainability and is devoted to environmental protection and the use of renewable energy as well as carbon emission reduction.

In addition, ASE pointed out that the company has invested more than NT$750 million to build a wastewater recycle system at its new K14 factory. Construction of the factory is scheduled to complete by April 2014, and the facility will be capable of processing 20,000 tons of wastewater per day and recycling 10,000 tons of wastewater.