A man has died after an explosion at the construction site of TSMC’s Arizona plant on Wednesday afternoon.

The worker, named by local media as 41 year-old Cesar Anguiano-Guitron, was a waste disposal truck driver.

Firefighters from the Phoenix, Glendale, and Daisy Mountain fire departments responded to the incident, which occurred at 43rd Avenue and Dove Valley Road in north Phoenix.

TSMC Arizona
TSMC's Arizona fab – TSMC

Local authorities are reportedly still investigating the cause of the explosion however, according to a report from ABC15 Arizona, Anguiano-Guitron was transporting pressurized waste materials away from the construction site when he was made aware of an issue with a container.

While inspecting the equipment, "an uncontrolled pressure release occurred,” causing Anguiano-Guitron to be hit by a blunt object and thrown 20 feet from the vehicle he was in.

He was taken to hospital with serious injuries but later died.

In a statement to ABC15, seemingly provided before the news of Anguiano-Guitron’s death was announced, TSMC said: "We are aware of an incident that occurred at our Arizona construction site whereby a waste disposal truck driver was transported to a local hospital. No TSMC employees and onsite construction workers have reported any related injuries. There was no damage to our facilities. We are working closely with local authority. This is an active investigation with no additional details that can be shared at this time."

DCD has reached out to TSMC for further comment.

Last week, the company posted on LinkedIn that it was recognizing ‘Construction Safety Week 2024’ at the Arizona site.

“While safety is important every day of the year, Safety Week provides TSMC and all our valued construction trade partners with the opportunity to step back, evaluate our practices in place, and reflect on the theme,” the post read. “We hold safety of our workforce and our project site in the highest regard and firmly believe that everyone plays a role.”

TSMC is building three fabs in Phoenix, Arizona, two of which will produce 4nm and 3nm semiconductors, and a third that will manufacture 2nm chips.

DCD's sympathies go out to Cesar Anguiano-Guitron's family, friends, and colleagues.