Stone quarries and crushers in the vicinity could put Assam’s semiconductor plant at risk

What happened: activist warns that quarrying and crushing may threaten Assam’s TSAT

An environmental activist warned that stone quarries and stone crushers near Assam’s planned Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) facility could create dust contamination and disturbance risks before the TSAT unit becomes operational. The activist’s concern focuses on dust-producing extraction and crushing activity in the TSAT area.

The TSAT facility is planned in Morigaon district at Jagiroad. The TSAT project is described as about 55 km east of Guwahati and a ₹27,000 crore project. Construction progress is reported as over 60% complete.

The environmental activist linked the following allegations and enforcement demands to the TSAT site: Stone quarries and stone crushers are alleged to operate within a 5-km radius of the TSAT facility.Excavation and blasting in forest hills at Sonaikuchi Reserve Forest are alleged to have produced dust outbreaks.The activist urged the Assam government to enforce restrictions on polluting activities within a 15-km radius of the TSAT facility.

Background: why semiconductor plants are sensitive to dust and vibration

The TSAT facility’s manufacturing requirements are described in the context of semiconductor production needs. Semiconductor manufacturing is described as requiring: Vibration-damped ISO cleanrooms in ISO Class 1–Class 5 (cleanrooms with very low allowable airborne particle concentrations) to avoid microscopic dust contamination.Millions of gallons of ultra-pure water for processing and cooling.