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Three Samsung workers injured in second serious acid leak at chip plant (updated)
Korean agency Yonhap News is reporting that there's been a second major leak of hydrofluoric acid at Samsung's main chip factory in the city of Hwaseong. Three workers are said to have been injured, with no word yet on how badly. Only three months have passed since the last such accident at the plant, which proved to be fatal and which got Samsung a nominal $1,000 fine as well as a telling-off from police investigators -- but which evidently didn't lead to sufficient safety improvements. Update: Samsung has been in touch to say that the acid leak wasn't in gas form, as Yonhap (and we) initially reported, and that the injured workers were contractors hired by Samsung rather than staff: At approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 2, three external contract workers were partially exposed to diluted hydrofluoric acid at Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Hwaseong, Korea. The workers received immediate first aid attention on site and were admitted to hospital for further examination. This occurred while the workers were upgrading parts of an existing facility in line with Ministry of Employment and Labor requirements. Samsung has reported the incident to the appropriate local authorities and is fully cooperating with investigations. We take the health and safety of workers very seriously and are committed to addressing any issues regarding the well-being of those working in our facilities.
Samsung apologizes for plant acid leak incident
Samsung has formally (and publicly) apologized over the hydrofluoric acid leak that occurred in January. Alongside this, Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun said that the company will revoke its application to get its plants certified as green for another five years. He added that the company is now overhauling its existing system to prevent any similar accidents from recurring. Samsung's 'green' plants were previously able to sidestep governmental checks on the facilities' environmental impact. Meanwhile, police are still investigating seven people on charges of negligence over the incident.
Korean police contradict Samsung over fatal gas leak, say acid got into the environment
Samsung has already been given a small fine for not reporting a fatal gas leak promptly enough, but now it could be in more serious trouble. At the time of the accident, which led to the death of a maintenance contractor, the manufacturer released a statement indicating that the leak of hydrofluoric acid had been "contained." But CCTV footage seen by investigators now suggests that some of the lethal gas reached beyond the confines of the chip plant. A local environmental group claims to have detected high levels of the gas within a couple of kilometers of the building -- an area with tens of thousands of residents. Police still appear to be investigating, but if all this turns out to be true then another $1,000 ticket probably isn't going to fix it.
Samsung fined $1,000 over fatal gas leak, according to Yonhap News
Korea's Yonhap News Agency is reporting that Samsung will be fined a nominal 1 million won (roughly $1,000) for not reporting its recent gas leak quickly enough. The incident led to the death of a maintenance contractor who was brought in to fix a pipe leaking hydrofluoric acid gas at one of Samsung's semiconductor plants. Police are said to be imposing the fine on both Samsung and its subcontractor for violating a law stipulating that such chemical leaks must be "promptly" reported to the authorities. It appears no official alert was given until the contractor died in hospital. Police say they're continuing to investigate how the fatal accident happened and that it's clear "someone died due to poor administration," so this isn't the end of the matter -- a fuller report is expected within two weeks.
