Interwoven within our semiconductor technology development had been the development of technologies aimed at identifying, evaluating and mitigating the environmental, health and safety (EH&S) risks and exposures associated with the manufacturing and packaging of integrated circuits. Driving and advancing these technologies have been international efforts by SEMI's Safety Division, the Semiconductor Safety Association (SSA), and the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

The purpose of the Semiconductor Safety Handbook is to provide a current, single source reference for many of the primary semiconductor EH&S technologies and disciplines. To this end, the contributors have assembled a comprehensive text written by some of the leading experts in EH&S in the semiconductor industry. This text had taken three years to complete and has involved tremendous effort and commitment by the authors.

They have attempted to construct a reference manual that is comprehensive in its coverage of the technical aspects of each individual subject, while at the same time addressing practical applications of each topic. The scope of this text, from its inception, was intended to address significantly more than what would typically be classified under the definition of ""safety."" However, all of the chapters have a direct application to the protection and preservation of semiconductor employees, the surrounding communities and the environment.

This book is a hands-on reference to environmental, health and safety issues critical to the semiconductor industry. It was also the author's intent to produce a text that provides a practical user's guide for semiconductor environmental, health and safety practitioners as well as those individuals responsible for operation, maintenance and production in wafer fabrication facilities.