Semiconductor ESH in the News

SRC/SSA/Sematech - Excellence Award for Research in Manufacturing Environmental Safety and Health

Nominations are being accepted for the SRC/SSA/Sematech Excellence Award for Research in Manufacturing Environmental Safety and Health. Nominations are open until Jan. 31, 2000.

EPA Guidance on Semiconductor (469) vs. Metal Finishing (433) Applicability

The EPA has issued a guidance letter on how the 40 CFR Rules should apply to semiconductor manufacturing. In particular, the guidance clears up confusion as to whether or when the 40 CFR 433 rules (Metals Finishing) should apply. This is important given the new use of electroplating and polishing processes (particularly of copper) in semiconductor fabrication, and appears to indicate that these fabrication steps should be considered under the existing 40 CFR 469 (Semiconductor Manufacturing) rules. A copy of the guidance letter, without supporting appendices, is available.

"Use of reclaimed wafers offers cost savings"

As report in the August 1998 issue of CleanRooms (PennWell), there is an increased interest in reclaiming wafers for use in semiconductor applications (e.g. for furnace monitoring, testing lithography equipment, other equipment or process testing, and for particle monitoring). This will be especially important for 300mm, but is also of interest in order to cut costs on existing technologies.

"Cirent install Pall Ultrafiltration system at Floriday Plant"

As reported in "CleanRooms" magazine (PennWell), Pall has installed a Microza ultrafiltration system at a Cirent Semiconductor plant to treat chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) wastewater so as to remove and concentrate suspended solids.

``Lawsuits prompt focus on cleanroom safety''

As discussed in a front page article in "CleanRooms" magazine (PennWell), additional attention is being devoted to cleanroom safety. The article specifically mentions suits by Zilog workers settled in 1996, as well as a more recent (Feb. 1998) single-worker suit at IBM disk facility in San Jose. The article nots that "US companies are now looking to avert the mistakes of the past by instituting state-of-the-art-processing procedures, including quality sampling procedures" to address safety issues.

``Fabs Worry About Energy Usage''

As reported in Electronic News, Planergy and SEMATECH have conducted an initial study examining how energy is used in semiconductor fabs. A survey of AMD's Fab 25 indicated large opportunities for energy savings and cost reductions (e.g. an annual savings of over $570,000) with no impact on production).

Sulfuric Acid Recycling

"Olin Microelectronic Materials has begun a recycling program of sulfuric acid for SGS-Thomson Microelectronics' Fab 1 in Phoenix. This recycling program offers semiconductor manufacturers cost savings, according to Olin, over the commonly used alternatives of disposing or neutralizing the used chemicals. This recycling effort is the company's first step toward its Rent-A-Chem concept under which Olin maintains ownership, and therefore, full-life responsibility for all the chemicals it provides. The company claims its cheaper for semiconductor manufacturers, its customers, and better for the environment. Semiconductor manufacturing uses a high volume of sulfuric acid. Olin finds alternative uses for the used sulfuric acid, which eliminates the negative environmental impact of disposing or neutralizing, according to Olin, the company maintains that the cost of the recycling program is lower than the cost of neutralization."

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