This is another major incident because hydrofluoric acid is a colourless acute poison which has the potential to damage the lungs, bones and has even been known to impact the nervous system.
According to reports three workers have been injured, but we're not sure how badly, but they have all been taken to hospital 'for further examination'. In this leak the hydrofluoric acid wasn't in gas form so hopefully for those injured the acid won't have affected their lungs.
There's a full statement from Samsung below which was given to Engadget:
"At approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 2, three external contract workers were partially exposed to diluted hydrofluoric acid at Samsung's semiconductor manufacturing facility in Hwaseong, Korea. The workers received immediate first aid attention on site and were admitted to hospital for further examination. This occurred while the workers were upgrading parts of an existing facility in line with Ministry of Employment and Labor requirements. 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."We feel like it's worth reporting this sort of thing because it's important to remember that it's often a dangerous job working with the chemicals and metals which go into our phones, tablets, laptops and televisions. Hopefully this second incident will be enough to ensure Samsung tighten up their health and safety at this plant!
Via Engadget.