43 reported sick after Gas leak at Intel plant

A gas leak at the world's largest chip maker Intel's Arizona plant on Saturday has caused sickness to 43 people, of which 12 have been admitted to hospital, according to the company and local fire services information.

The accident took place in the morning hours at the technology giant's second-largest plant near Queen Creek and Price roads in Chandler, 40km east of Phoenix. It is one of Intel's three chip making facilities in the US.

The victims suffered from difficulty in breathing, nausea, and skin and eye irritation.

Tom Dwiggins, a spokesman for the Chandler fire department told Bloomberg that all of the injuries were minor and not life-threatening, and those sent to the hospital went for precautionary reasons.

The immediate cause of the accident is not known, but according to reports, the leaked gas is part of the recipe of the manufacturing process. The company uses nitrogen and other gases as part of its dry-etching process for making ultra-thin chips.

According to Jason Bagely, a government affairs director for the company, the gas leak occurred in the facility known as Fab 32 where computer chips are made. He said it appeared an o-ring failed as the gas byproduct was being piped out of the facility.

The affected people in the plant were contract workers, Bagely said.

Further to the mishap, the area was quickly evacuated and isolated from other parts of the facility.

The incident would have no impact on the company's operations and the works done in the affected area have been moved to another area, Bagely said.

Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said a single manufacturing tool in the silicon wafer fabrication facilities was the source of the leak and the company will investigate the cause of the accident.

At Chandler, Intel operates two manufacturing facilities and a third one is under construction. More than 11,000 people work in the plant out of Intel's total workforce of over 100,000.

The company has chip making sites in Hillsboro, Oregon and Rio Rancho, New Mexico and also in Ireland, Israel and China.