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From my understanding the chemicals haven't changed, and can't really be changed. As far as i understand we will always need these crazy bad chemicals to make
by iancmceachern 4y ago
From my understanding the chemicals haven't changed, and can't really be changed. As far as i understand we will always need these crazy bad chemicals to make chips.
What has, hopefully, changed is we aren't allowing companies to store it in leaking underground tanks, etc. All these superfund sites aren't a result if business as usual, in each case there is some major, systemic, intentional oversight and frankly corruption.
Source - I've worked some in that industry designing automation for asml, applied, etc.
Not in the semiconductor industry but a good example of the kind of thing that results in a super fund site is Rocky Flats in Colorado. There is a now famous news broadcast where the representative from the department of energy is saying "there is no fire" and a big fire can be clearly seen behind them.
They were machining plutonium and uranium nuclear bomb triggers on lathes in special glove boxes with particle capture and ventilation systems that were supposed to scrub the air before venting it to atmosphere. These systems weren't properly maintained and they got clogged up with radioactive dust and caught fire. It was later found that they were dumping radioactive dust into the air, and had hundreds of barrels of radioactive waste in steel barrels that were rusted through leaking into the ground for decades. It's the only time one federal agency (the FBI) raided a facility of another federal agency (DOE).
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- nickff 4y agoThere have been a huge number of changes to the chemicals used in photolithography over time, specifically the photoresists.
- iancmceachern 4y agoYeah but lots of the super terrible stuff is in the surface prep and etching chemicals. All those crazy acids and bases that eat through everything, are highly toxic, and deadly in tiny quantities. https://www.prevor.com/en/chemical-risks-in-semiconductors-industry/ https://www.prevor.com/en/chemical-risks-in-semiconductors-i...
- nickff 4y agoMy understanding is that photoresists are actually some of the most toxic chemicals in the process, and their heating/irradiation makes them especially dangerous. https://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Workers%27_Guide_to_Health_and_Safety:Making_the_chip_on_the_wafer https://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Workers%27_Guide_to_Health_and_...
- iancmceachern 4y agoThe context of my comment was in response to the parent saying they've phased out/changed many of the worst stuff in the photo resist side and so I said there is still pretty bad stuff on the etch side and then you commented that there are worse chemicals on the photo resist side. We're in a weird circular argument. Point is - there are lots of bad chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing, even today.
- MichaelZuo 4y agoThis is exactly why the cost basis for fabs in the US got less and less competitive over time compared to countries with laxer regulation.
- iancmceachern 4y agoSame thing for mining
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago> crazy bad chemicals Exhibit A: https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-you-time https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/sand-won-t-save-yo...