Three Injured in Second Leak at Samsung Chip Plant

Back in January, Samsung's semiconductor plant in Hwaseong, South Korea, just south of Seoul, suffered a gas leak that left one employee dead and injured four others. Now, Yonhap News agency is reporting that Samsung has suffered an acid leak at the same factory.

Yonhap reports that Samsung has confirmed that the poisonous hydrofluoric acid leak occurred at its main chip plant in Hwaseong. Three workers were injured in the incident, which is said to have occurred on Thursday morning. Though Samsung says only a small amount of gas leaked when workers were changing the pipes, it's the second incident of its kind that Samsung has had this year. 

Samsung reached out to Engadget to elaborate on what happened. Apparently, those injured in Thursday's incident were external contract workers. These workers were partially exposed to diluted hydrofluoric acid and Samsung says they were given immediate first aid attention on site before being admitted to hospital.

"This occurred while the workers were upgrading parts of an existing facility in line with Ministry of Employment and Labor requirements," Samsung said in its statement to Engadget. "Samsung has reported the incident to the appropriate local authorities and is fully cooperating with investigations. We take the health and safety of workers very seriously and are committed to addressing any issues regarding the well-being of those working in our facilities."

Samsung was criticized earlier this year for failing to disclose the January leak. The company reportedly didn't tell the proper authorities for more than a full day after the workers were hospitalized. Samsung faced investigation from local police and fire departments for not reporting the incident sooner and to determine whether workers had access to proper safety equipment and figure out why the tank leaked the poisonous gas in the first place.