Seagate 2011 Annual Report Download - page 18

Table of Contents
Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to U.S. and foreign laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, including those governing
discharges of pollutants into the air and water, the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes and the cleanup of
contaminated sites. Some of our operations require environmental permits and controls to prevent and reduce air and water pollution, and these
permits are subject to modification, renewal and revocation by issuing authorities.
We have established environmental management systems and continually update environmental policies and standard operating procedures
for our operations worldwide. We believe that our operations are in material compliance with applicable environmental laws, regulations and
permits. We budget for operating and capital costs on an ongoing basis to comply with environmental laws. If additional or more stringent
requirements are imposed on us in the future, we could incur additional operating costs and capital expenditures.
Some environmental laws, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (as amended, the
"Superfund" law) and its state equivalents, can impose liability for the cost of cleanup of contaminated sites upon any of the current or former
site owners or operators or upon parties who sent waste to these sites, regardless of whether the owner or operator owned the site at the time of
the release of hazardous substances or the lawfulness of the original disposal activity. We have been identified as a potentially responsible party
at several sites. At each of these sites, we have an assigned portion of the financial liability based on the type and amount of hazardous
substances disposed of by each party at the site and the number of financially viable parties. We have fulfilled our responsibilities at some of
these sites and remains involved in only a few at this time.
While our ultimate costs in connection with these sites is difficult to predict with complete accuracy, based our current estimates of cleanup
costs and its expected allocation of these costs, we do not expect costs in connection with these sites to be material.
We may be subject to various state, federal and international laws and regulations governing the environment, including those restricting the
presence of certain substances in electronic products. For example, the European Union ("EU") enacted the Restriction of the Use of Certain
Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment, which prohibits the use of certain substances, including lead, in certain products,
including disk drives, put on the market after July 1, 2006. Similar legislation has been or may be enacted in other jurisdictions, including in the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Japan and others. The European Union REACH Directive (Registration, Evaluation,
Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, EC 1907/2006) also restricts substances of very high concern ("SVHCs") in products. If we or our
suppliers fail to comply with the substance restrictions, recycle requirements or other environmental requirements as they are enacted worldwide,
it could have a materially adverse effect on our business.
Employees
At June 29, 2012, we employed approximately 57,900 employees, temporary employees and contractors worldwide, of which
approximately 50,600 employees were located in our Asian operations. We believe that our future success will depend in part on our ability to
attract and retain qualified employees at all levels. We believe that our employee relations are good.
Financial Information
Financial information for our reportable business segment and about geographic areas is set forth in "Item 8. Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data-Note 13, Business Segment and Geographic Information."
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