April 18, 2010 David meets $4.2B Goliath at Malta fab
MALTA -- It might seem at times that the weight of the world rests on Tim Murphy's shoulders.
Murphy, code enforcement officer for the town of Malta, is responsible for ensuring that GlobalFoundries Inc. builds its $4.2 billion computer chip factory here the right way.
The 52-year-old Murphy is overseeing the largest private construction project in North America. It's a project that presents a variety of risks to the community, considering the mix of toxic -- and potentially deadly -- gases and chemicals used in a chip "fab" to turn silicon wafers into microprocessors.
"It's heavy lifting," Murphy said during a recent tour of the site at Luther Forest Technology Campus. "It's monumental."
Add to that the fact that Malta, a town of just 12,500 residents that has had little industrial development -- let alone a 1.3 million-square-foot behemoth -- doesn't have the money or the expertise to oversee the project on its own.
Just ask Jeff Jurrens, head of fire code enforcement for the city of Hillsboro, Ore., where giant chip maker Intel Corp. has several fabs.
Hillsboro, just outside Portland, was a largely rural community until a high-tech boom led by Intel brought big changes in the 1990s. The population has doubled since then, to 90,000.
"We had some of the same challenges," said Jurrens, who was the city's fire marshal during that period. "We had to ramp up to deal with it. I don't envy Malta's position at all. They're in the same position as we were, but with fewer resources."
But Murphy and the town have some help.
In an arrangement not uncommon in the semiconductor industry -- and mandated under Malta's zoning laws -- GlobalFoundries is footing the bill for the town to hire a team of consultants to aid Murphy in his job. An agreement with the company provides the town with a budget of nearly $1.6 million for design review and inspections at the GlobalFoundries site, also known as Fab 8.
And that is just for construction of the building "shell." More inspections would have to be done later when the company installs the complex manufacturing equipment that accounts for more than $3 billion of the entire cost of the project.
As a comparison, Malta's annual budget for code enforcement salaries and benefits is roughly $200,000, although GlobalFoundries is reimbursing the town $68,000 so Murphy can spend all of his time on the project.
"They want to do everything right," Malta Town Supervisor Paul Sausville said about GlobalFoundries. "They can't afford to be out of operation for even a single day. They don't want to have any chemical accidents. They don't want the building to collapse. It's not a fly-by-night operation. It's just the opposite."
To undertake this effort, the town chose The Chazen Cos., a local engineering and architecture firm that previously advised the town's planning board when the fab project was being reviewed.
Chazen then subcontracted an Oregon-based company that specializes in chip fab construction called Evergreen Engineering, and Evergreen has also brought in other experts.
Dozens of people will be working on the project, including David Foster, an Evergreen employee with experience in Hillsboro. He moved to the Capital Region to work on-site at Luther Forest with Murphy over the next two years.
"I have these guys to fall back on," Murphy said. "It's the only thing that keeps me sane. If I need help, they're here."
Another of those helping Murphy is Reinhard Hanselka, an expert in hazardous materials who was fire chief for the city of Palo Alto, Calif., the epicenter of Silicon Valley and the semiconductor industry. He visited Fab 8 several weeks ago along with Evergreen officials.
"It's the nature of the semiconductor industry, taking hazardous materials and turning them into electronic products," Hanselka said, "My job is to prevent anything from happening here. Nothing is more important than the safety of people around here."
Each day, the smallest details are checked for compliance with state building and fire codes. Welds, steel bolts, structural braces and fire-proof coatings are inspected, and concrete samples are analyzed. An independent third-party company generally does the testing, although Murphy remains in charge of the process. One of those companies is QCQA Labs Inc. of Schenectady, a materials testing company founded by the late Harry Apkarian.
Murphy says there have been few major disagreements with M+W Group, the general contractor, on its workmanship.
"It's been a very respectable discussion with them," Murphy said. "We have differences on occasion. It's more of a problem-solving approach. They have been very open to what we have to say."
Art Kaplan, M+W Group's community relations manager for Fab 8, agrees with that. The German company recently said it is moving its U.S. headquarters from Texas to Watervliet Arsenal.
"The bottom line is we all made a decision to work together as colleagues," Kaplan said. "There are no surprises. It's a lot like a joint venture or a partnership. Everyone has been positively involved in the project. We all have one goal in mind,"
The semiconductor industry has not been without its environmental problems. Although the industry says it now designs its buildings with redundant safety features that minimize risks to employees, local residents and the environment, there have been documented instances of groundwater contamination by older chip fabs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere around the U.S. that have been classified as Superfund sites.
And just last week, Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, one of the world's largest chip makers, was forced to launch an investigation into concerns that its workers have been getting cancer from working in its fabs outside Seoul after 10 died from the disease over the past decade.
Elizabeth Grossman, the author of "Chasing Molecules" and "High Tech Trash," has written about the Samsung deaths, and has documented the health dangers posed by semiconductor manufacturing.
"You want to make sure there is some good ongoing monitoring," said Grossman, who lives near the Intel plants in Oregon. "You want to make sure there is very good oversight and planning for the handling of hazardous materials."
Still, those who protect the public from the potential dangers of chip fabs say major problems are rare.
"We never had any major fires," said Jurrens, who was with the fire department in Hillsboro. "We never had anything that did any real damage. They have spills, most of which they can handle by themselves. We never had any incident that had a community impact. Even if there are incidents, it's contained. That's why in my view, either you get that done correctly now, or you have problems down the road."
One of the major questions in Malta is whether the town planning and building department, with its nine employees, can handle the GlobalFoundries site, in additional to other growth in the town. Sausville and other town board members say the department is big enough right now, although they would consider alternatives if conditions change.
One of those positions is a part-time fire marshal, and Hanselka, the hazardous materials expert, says that won't be enough. He said the town needs a full-time fire marshal to conduct routine fire code inspections.
"In my personal opinion, they definitely do" need to make the position full time, Hanselka said. "This is the most complex facility that will exist in the United States, it's as simple as that. As a whole, they are very taxed."
Local fire departments are also planning for future emergencies at Fab 8 and the accompanying development in town. Peter Shaw, chief of the Malta Ridge Volunteer Fire Co., said department members have started the process of planning and educating themselves on what it takes to respond to an incident at a factory of that size. The department has a mutual aid agreement with Round Lake Volunteer Fire Department, and there is talk of building a new fire house that could be shared with Round Lake. The department's current substation on Route 9 is essentially only a garage, Shaw said.
Mike Aufiero, chief of the Saratoga County hazardous materials team, says the biggest need will be special meters that can pick up specific chemicals or gases, and he is more worried about chemical spills by delivery trucks than problems inside the factory.
"That's probably a bigger vulnerability than the actual plant operation," he said.
Toxic stew
Computer chip fabs use a variety of toxic chemicals to etch complex circuitry onto 12-inch silicon wafers. The process involves adding layers of metals like copper and then dissolving them away. There are hundreds of steps and the process, which takes place in hermetically sealed machines, takes two months. Here is a list of some of the dangerous chemicals and gases that are used in the process and the reactions they can cause:
Boron trichloride: Choking, vomiting, stomach burns, chest pain and blindness
