AMD 2009 Annual Report Download - page 41

We are conducting an internal investigation into matters associated with recently announced allegations of
trading in our stock on the basis of confidential information.
We are conducting an internal investigation into recent allegations that an unnamed “AMD executive”
provided confidential information about us to a person who has been charged by federal authorities with trading
in our stock on the basis of that confidential information. To date, we have not been and, to our knowledge, none
of our current or former executives or employees have been, charged or otherwise identified as targets or subjects
in connection with ongoing proceedings or investigations relating to this matter. At this time, we cannot give any
assurances as to the outcome of our investigation or whether any facts that may be discovered will be damaging
to our business, results of operations or reputation.
We are subject to a variety of environmental laws that could result in liabilities.
Our operations and properties have in the past and continue to be subject to various United States and
foreign environmental laws and regulations, including those relating to materials used in our products and
manufacturing processes, discharge of pollutants into the environment, the treatment, transport, storage and
disposal of solid and hazardous wastes, and remediation of contamination. These laws and regulations require us
to obtain permits for our operations, including the discharge of air pollutants and wastewater. Although our
management systems are designed to maintain compliance, we cannot assure you that we have been or will be at
all times in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If we violate or fail to comply with
any of them, a range of consequences could result, including fines, suspension of production, alteration of
manufacturing processes, import/export restrictions, sales limitations, criminal and civil liabilities or other
sanctions. We could also be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of exposure to hazardous
materials used, stored, released, disposed of by us or located at or under our facilities or other environmental or
natural resource damage.
Certain environmental laws, including the U.S. Comprehensive, Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act of 1980, or the Superfund Act, impose strict, joint and several liability on current and previous
owners or operators of real property for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous substances and impose
liability for damages to natural resources. These laws often impose liability even if the owner or operator did not
know of, or was not responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. These environmental laws also
assess liability on persons who arrange for hazardous substances to be sent to disposal or treatment facilities
when such facilities are found to be contaminated. Such persons can be responsible for cleanup costs even if they
never owned or operated the contaminated facility. We have been named as a responsible party on Superfund
clean-up orders for three sites in Sunnyvale, California. Although we have not yet been, we could be named a
potentially responsible party at other Superfund or contaminated sites in the future. In addition, contamination
that has not yet been identified could exist at our other facilities.
Environmental laws are complex, change frequently and have tended to become more stringent over time.
For example, the European Union (EU) and China are two among a growing number of jurisdictions that have
enacted in recent years restrictions on the use of lead, among other chemicals, in electronic products. These
regulations affect semiconductor packaging. There is a risk that the cost, quality and manufacturing yields of
lead-free products may be less favorable compared to lead-based products or that the transition to lead-free
products may produce sudden changes in demand, which may result in excess inventory. Other regulatory
requirements potentially affecting our back-end manufacturing processes and the design and marketing of our
products are in development throughout the world. In addition, the EU is considering market entry requirements
for computers based on the ENERGY STAR specification (Version 5.0) as well as additional limits. The
proposed requirements, which have not yet been finalized by the EU Commission, could potentially be approved
and implemented as early as the fourth quarter of 2011. If such requirements are implemented in the proposed
time frame and to the proposed specification there is the potential for certain of our microprocessor, chipset and
GPU products, as incorporated in desktop and mobile PCs, being excluded from the EU market. While we have
budgeted for foreseeable associated expenditures, we cannot assure you that future environmental legal
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