A massive hydrogen fluoride leak forced the immediate evacuation of 3,600 workers at SK Hynix’s Cheongju plant today.
The fire started in a sixth-floor gas room that connects the critical M15 and M15X fabs.
Even though the company says production is still stable, this facility is one of the most important sites for their HBM chips that power AI servers.
Hydrogen fluoride is extremely toxic, and something like this makes you wonder about deeper safety issues inside these high-tech plants.
This whole situation really shows how fragile the global AI supply chain actually is.
The automated systems managed to contain the fire, but it could have easily wiped out months of production.
This wasn’t just some minor incident — it feels like a serious warning that our digital future is more vulnerable than we like to admit.
Seven workers were hospitalized after the leak, yet management seems to be downplaying the health risks.
If this key facility ever goes down for an extended period, the entire AI industry could basically grind to a halt.
SK Hynix Evacuates Thousands Of Workers At Chip Plant After Fire, Toxic Gas Leak https://t.co/EhQROF0DHw
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 1, 2026
Fire at SK hynix’s Cheongju complex leaves seven injured
The 5 ppm reading exceeded the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s ceiling exposure limit of 3 ppm.
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s permissible exposure limit of hydrogen fluoride sits at 3 ppm as an eight-hour average.