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SEMI Dispatches Earthquake Reconnaissance Team to Taiwan |
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Degenkolb Engineering and EORM to Perform Study MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 24 /PR Newswire/ -- Semiconductor
Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), today announced it is
immediately sending a team of expert seismic and environmental health and
safety (EHS) assessment professionals to Taiwan to survey and document the
impacts of the recent earthquake there.
"The island's semiconductor industry is just beginning to
understand the full impacts of the earthquake," said Stanley Myers,
president of SEMI. "I am greatly heartened, that our office in
Hsinchu reports minimal injury to the people of the semiconductor wafer
fabrication, testing and assembly facilities nearby. Now, I feel it is the
appropriate role of a global association to dedicate resources to learn
from the terrible experience in Taiwan in order to enhance the
preparedness of the entire semiconductor industry." The investigative team marshaled by SEMI will be lead by Stacy
Bartoletti, P.E., associate with Degenkolb Engineers, a structural
engineering firm specializing in seismic design; and Brian Sherin, CSP,
managing principal of Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc.
(EORM), an EHS consulting services organization. Both companies are
members of the global trade association. Degenkolb will provide structural engineering evaluation and assessment
of the performance of the subject buildings, nonstructural contents and
utilities, and production equipment. EORM will provide hazardous
materials, process equipment, and facilities infrastructure evaluation
with respect to EHS issues. The purpose of the investigation will be to identify and report on
design practices that were successful in protecting structures, equipment
and product as well as designs that failed to protect against the 7.6
magnitude earthquake. The lessons learned from this event will be directly
applicable to seismic design criteria for semiconductor facilities around
the world that are exposed to seismic risk. "Significant portions of the world's chip production occurs near
seismically active areas," said Aimee Bordeaux, director of
Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) for SEMI. "It is imperative
that we learn from tragic events, such as the recent earthquake in Taiwan,
to advance our understanding of best practices in semiconductor
manufacturing facilities planning as well Degenkolb Engineers, founded in 1940, is one of the largest structural engineering firms in the West Coast of the United States specializing in seismic engineering. The firm helps universities, schools, corporations, health care owners, and government organizations reduce their risk of seismic damage by designing buildings to better resist earthquakes. They use the most advanced analysis techniques so far developed and are pioneers in performance based engineering. The 100-person firm has been an active member and supporter of the Structural Engineers Association and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute for several decades. Degenkolb has offices in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Portland. More information is available about the firm at http://www.degenkolb.com/. EORM, founded in 1990 and based in Sunnyvale, Calif., provides high-value, strategically oriented environmental health and safety (EHS) consulting services to a broad range of industries. With approximately 100 employees, five offices, and an international client base, EORM is an established leader in the application of EHS tools and strategies for the semiconductor, electronics, biotechnology, and other rapidly changing and competitive industries. EORM has received national recognition for its services, including being awarded a SEMATECH Outstanding Contribution Award. More information is available about the firm at http://www.eorm.com/. Based in Mountain View, Calif., SEMI is an international trade association serving more than 2,300 companies participating in the $65 billion semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and materials markets. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. Visit SEMI OnLine at http://www.semi.org/. SOURCE: SEMI Web site: http://www.degenkolb.com/ Web site: http://www.eorm.com/ Web site: http://www.semi.org/ CO: SEMI; Environmental and Occupational Risk Management, Inc. ST: Taiwan, California |
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| Posted September 27, 1999. |