Intel Corp., the second biggest manufacturing plant in Chandler, Arizona and the biggest chipmaker in the world, has been reported to have an incident of gas leak in one of its buildings affecting 43 people on which 11 were brought to the hospital.
Battalion Chief Tom Dwiggins, spokesman of the fire department, the building was immediately vacated after the gas leak. The gas identified was nitrogen trifluoride which may cause liver or kidney injury to humans when exposed.
Meanwhile, Intel’s spokesman Chuck Mulloy explained that the leak came from a single manufacturing tool used by one of Intel’s facilities for silicon wafer fabrication. The tool had been shut down but the plant operations have resumed while the company is still investigating the cause of the rare malfunction. Mulloy expressed with confidence that the incident had not shown any sign of danger or threat to the nearby residences. They have assured the public that the air had been monitored both inside and outside the facilities and had been declared as clean.
Silicon wafers are manufactured in the company as an important component in making semiconductors for PCs. These components are created on 12 individually sliced silicon wafers wherein each of them would contain transistors amounting to more than a billion.
At least 43 people affected by the leak received treatment within the facility while 11 were brought to the hospital for further health evaluations. These people have shown symptoms of infection such as nausea, irritation of the skin and eye, and breathing difficulty.
About 75 fire fighters immediately came to the area on Saturday after one worker complained that he was having difficulty breathing and others began to show some symptoms as well.
The Intel Corp. facility has around 11,000 employees working on its two high-volume semiconductor manufacturing buildings. The company is opening a third building which would begin operations before the year ends.
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