Most processing plasmas used by the semiconductor industry today have been extensively optimized for manufacturing performance. However, this optimization has traditionally not considered environmental impact as part of the performance criteria. Recent measurements have revealed that essentially all processing plasmas emit some form of gaseous by-products or un-reacted source materials which can be categorized as either volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), or perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Although effective abatement solutions exist for some of these compounds they often transfer the problem from one phase to another requiring subsequent treatment. In an effort to develop truly optimized plasma processes we have investigated the operation of high pressure fluorinated gas (NF@sub 3@, C@sub 2@F@sub 6@) plasmas, predominantly used for CVD chamber cleaning applications, to determine which conditions lead to the highest throughput, lowest environmental impact processes. Using a variety of diagnostics; mass spectrometry, FTIR, electrical impedance analysis, and incident ion energy analysis the effect of operating conditions on etch rate, source gas utilization, by-product formation, and positive ion energy distribution functions have been determined. Using the insight gained from these measurements effective strategies have been identified to maximize the performance of CVD chamber cleans while minimizing their environmental impact. This presentation will give an overview of the environmental challenges associated with gaseous emissions from these tools and our efforts to identify viable solutions for chamber cleans in particular and semiconductor processing plasmas in general.