Emission and occupational health risk assessment of harmful contaminants in various processes in a typical semiconductor manufacturing industry building

Abstract

Workers in semiconductor factories have occupational health risks from exposure to chemical substances. This work analyzed hazardous chemical substances in the key process of a semiconductor factory in China, and studied cancer and non-cancer health risks and occupational health risks of workers. Research results show that more than half of the processes contain compounds such as hydrogen fluoride, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, ammonia and 2-propanol, and their concentrations vary greatly depending on the process. The occupational exposure index (Ei) of some processes is greater than 1, which means that there are adverse occupational health risks, including wet etching (WETCH), physical vapour deposition (PVD), furnace process (FUR), chemicals storehouse (CS) and diffusion (from inspection area). The pollutants with a high contribution rate to Ei vary with the process, and WETCH (operating area) has the highest contribution rate of sulphuric acid (93.33%). The Hazard Quotient (HQi) of PVD and CS is far greater than 1, indicating that there is a non-cancer risk. The lifetime cancer risk (LCRi) of wastewater treatment and CS is greater than 10−4, which indicates a risk of cancer. The General Engineer has higher health risks than the Duty Engineer due to the higher exposure frequency.