Take a look at Hyundai Electronics America's Homepage to see how wonderful they are!

What you should know about the proposed

HYUNDAI SEMICONDUCTOR PLANT

Myth : Hyundai's semiconductor factory will be built. It's a done deal.
Fact : Hyundai doesn't have the needed permits. City, state and federalk regulatory agencies have yet to issue permits on the proposed facility. Their okay is needed before Hyundai can start to build the plant.

Hyundai, a multinational manufacturer of heavy goods and electronics, seeks to build a semiconductor facotory on a large plot of land in west Eugene. The 205 acre parcel includes a designated wetland, and Army Corps of Emgineers and Oregon's Department of Environmental Quiality need to issue permits before the wetlands can be destroyed.

Important Issues around the Hyundai proposal

Environmental Issues

  • Because winds in Eugene generally blow west to east, incenerated waste from the planty will flow directly through much of the city. Our notoriuos "inversion layer" will trap these particles close to the ground, forcing us to breathe them in unknown concentrations.
  • Primary truck routes for hauling chemicals and wastes to and from the plant will be I-5 , HWY 99, Beltline, and Willow Creek Road.
  • Eugene does not have the resources to effectivly notify and evacute the comunity and surrounding areas if a major accident occurs.
  • The proposed Hyundai factory would be built adhajcent to an open waterway which drains directly into the west Eugene wetland system, then Fern Ridge Reservoir and the Willamette River.
  • This facoryt will encourage an explosion of industrial and commercial development in the areas adjacent to the Willow Creek wetlands.
  • This facility will likely use over 80 different kinds of highly toxic substances. Many of these chemicals are known, even with very low exposure, to contribute to the following health problems:

    Birth defects, Decreased immunity, Breast and other cancers, Skeletal deformities, Reduced IQ, Neural disorders, Hormonal imbalances, Behavioral changes, Chronic liver abnormalities, Sexual dysfunction

  • Hyundai's phase I plant will use about about 1 million pounds of chemicals per month. Hyundai's listings have been vague and incomplete, but it is likely many chemicals will be diluted into our local water treatment system or incinerated into the open air. By law, industries can refuse to disclose the types and ammounts of chemicals they will use by claiming that such information is a "trade secret".

    Labor and Jobs

  • Most of the 800 jobs Hyundai will create are assembly-l;ine "operators". OEDD estimated the average starting wage for an operator at $5.50/hr. Only 20% of Oregon's chip plants are unionized.
  • Hyundai has built only one other plant in he U.S., in Santa Clara, CA. The plant was closed within less then 2 years. Hyundai admints that most of its Eugene facoty will be obolete in three years and has made no guarantees about
  • Systenic poisoning occurs 3 -4 times more often in industry, and is higher than that of any chemical industry,
  • including pesticide manufacture.
  • The rate spontaneuous abortion in women working in semiconductor plants is elevated by 60% - regardless of whether their duties are assembly-line or clerical. The cause is yet unkown.
  • Hyundai's labor record is abysmal, including an incident where they used the airplanes to bomb strikers at a Korean plant.

    What can you do??

    For more : The citizens for Public Acountability
    Info call : 341 - 0775 or 687 - 5941