TSMC Leads the Industry to Apply EU Exhaust Hood Testing Standard to Build a Safe and Healthy Working Environment
To achieve the United Nation Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs), TSMC proactively enhances a safe and healthy working environment. TSMC leads the industry to introduce EN 14175-3 (Requirements for Fume Cupboards) to reduce exposure risk of operators and lab staffs who can work in a more safe and healthy environment. As of today, all TSMC's 12-inch fabs have completed certification, and, for our 8-inch fabs, we continue to take improvement actions or purchase the certified hood. TSMC is set to accomplish these improvements by the end of this year, and help five tier-one suppliers to implement the same actions and achieve the target in 2020.
Leading Industry to Introduce EU standard, Enhancing Employees' Working Safety & Health and Energy Efficiency Optimization
Chemicals are wildly used in blending, mixing, analyzing, testing process in the semiconductor industry. To minimize chemicals emission and reduce employee exposure, more hazardous jobs will be operated in the exhaust hood such as parts preventive maintenance (PM) or Lab analysis. Based on occupational hygiene concept and optimizing energy efficiency, TSMC applies EN 14175-3 that exceeds the statutory requirements in 2019 to make sure all hazardous substances could be collected by local ventilation and energy using in exhaust system could be controlled. TSMC set up this standardized process to manage occupational hygiene risk for employees working in chemical exposure environment.
Local ventilation is an important risk control method in occupational hygiene field. TSMC leads the industry to demonstrate ventilation efficiency and energy optimization to control hazard exposure. This is a valuable contribution and declaration.
Improvement Case Study in Response to EN 14175-3
| Case A | Case B | |
|---|---|---|
| Before Correction | Detected concentration > 0.01 ppm while slide door is half-open | Passed, but the noise level is high |
| EN 14175-3 Criterion | Not detected or < 0.01 ppm | Not detected or < 0.01 ppm |
| After Correction | By using visualizing airflow method, lots of vortex are generated at the bottom edge of slide door. After increasing ventilation, the hood passed the test. | High level noise is generated by high speed velocity. Case B hood only has one point to connect with Facility Division exhaust pipe. So Fab Operations will discuss with equipment suppliers to add one point exhaust to share the pressure to lower the noise. |
TSMC Joins Hands with Suppliers to Create a Safe and Healthy Semiconductor Supplier Chain
TSMC, as responsible buyer, has invited five suitable tier-one suppliers to join EN 14175-3 certified plan from July, 2020. TSMC will provide these suppliers counselling and auditing on operation line. These five suppliers are expected to meet the EN 14175-3 testing standard in 2021.
Starting from the EN 14175-3 testing standard, TSMC's cooperate ESH division launched the "Supplier Chemical Footprint Program" in 2020 to combine external resources to execute quantifiably chemical reduction, including joining hands with the RD organization to substitute high risk CMR material in the early stage, and to monitor execution completeness and work with upstream and downstream supply chain to fulfill sustainable management in the industry.