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SK Hynix campus in Cheongju. / North Chungcheong Province

A series of safety violations that could lead to fires, explosions or hazardous gas leaks has been uncovered at semiconductor manufacturing sites. At SK Hynix’s Cheongju campus, where a fluorine leak and fire occurred in June, authorities found 119 legal violations, while the company’s Icheon campus was found to have failed to follow required procedures for outsourced work involving hazardous chemicals.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Sept. 20 that it found 338 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act during intensive inspections of 27 semiconductor manufacturing sites, including SK Hynix’s Cheongju campus, conducted from June 26 through Sept. 18.

Of the total violations, 28 cases will be referred for criminal proceedings, while 120 will result in fines totaling 112 million won. Authorities ordered corrective action in 188 cases and issued one cancellation of outsourcing approval and one suspension-of-use order.

At SK Hynix’s Cheongju campus, where the leak and fire occurred in June, a total of 119 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act were confirmed. Of these, 28 are subject to criminal proceedings.

Inspectors found cases in which shutoff valves had been installed on both sides of safety valves designed to relieve pressure in emergencies, as well as cases in which electrical equipment without explosion-proof protection was used in areas at risk of explosion.

Authorities also found failures to attach warning labels and post material safety data sheets, or MSDS. A total of 84 such violations will result in fines of about 32 million won.

The June accident at the Cheongju campus was found to have resulted from inadequate implementation of the process safety report. The company failed to conduct a preliminary inspection and began gas-related work without the required work permit, even though the task was subject to a safety work permit requirement.

At the other 26 semiconductor manufacturing sites, inspectors found a total of 219 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Violations included failing to install caps at the ends of sulfuric acid pipes, failing to mark valve opening and closing directions and failing to install gas detectors. Inspectors also found inadequate measures to prevent falls, electric shocks and entanglement accidents, as well as failures to post warning signs for confined-space work.

Of these violations, 181 were subject to corrective action. Another 36 cases, including failures to attach warning labels in areas handling hazardous substances or to post MSDS information, resulted in fines totaling about 80 million won.

At SK Hynix’s Icheon campus, authorities found that required work procedures had not been followed during outsourced work involving hazardous chemicals that had been approved by the ministry. An accident in which waste nitric acid came into contact with a worker also occurred during the work.

The ministry subsequently revoked the outsourcing approval. Separately, the Icheon campus received 39 corrective orders and eight fines totaling 27.7 million won.

At another worksite, an industrial lift that had not undergone a required safety inspection was found and ordered out of service.

The ministry plans to share the violations identified during the inspections with relevant industry associations and organizations so that semiconductor plants not included in the inspection can also identify and address their own risk factors.

“Because semiconductor plants handle hazardous and high-pressure gases, even a small lapse in safety management can lead to a major disaster,” said Ryu Hyun-chul, head of the ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters. “The accident at SK Hynix’s Cheongju campus was a warning sign.”

He called on the semiconductor industry to manage the prevention of serious industrial accidents “at a level befitting its world-class technological capabilities.”

                                                                                                         Kim Nam-hyung