Intel blast, ‘no disruption to manufacturing’
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An explosion at Intel's semiconductor manufacturing facility located near Chandler, Arizona has injured seven workers.
The blast occurred at the Fab 22 plant on Wednesday at around 2pm local time, resulting in four employees being taken to hospital suffering from concussion and shrapnel wounds. Three others were less seriously hurt and treated at the scene.
A solvent treatment room used to carry out parts of Intel's semiconductor manufacturing process was the source of the explosion.
The plant has been undergoing upgrades to support production of 22nm chip fabrication which Intel is developing for its upcoming Tri-Gate transistors. According to Reuters, several hundred workers were evacuated from the plant and adjacent multistorey building were evacuated. These will remain closed indefinitely while the cause of the explosion is investigated.
In a statement, Josh Walden, Intel's vice president and general manager for fab sort management, asserted that there was no disruption to manufacturing. "We're trying to ascertain what happened. All we know is that there was no damage or release of chemicals to the community," he said.
