05/01/1998

"A few bad apples"

After reading Ed Korczynski`s editorial, "A few bad apples," (March, p. 14), I must agree with you on the safety level in the US semiconductor industry. Having been a part of this industry for 18 years, I feel that the focus has dramatically improved as we have become more sensitive to our environment.

Alas, USA Today has demonstrated that it, like so much of the media today, is not interested in presenting the whole story, only that which is sensational. It is a sad scenario at best.

I wonder if USA Today, if asked, would present an evenly-balanced story as prominently as the first one, or if it would be shuffled to the filler pages since it would not be perceived as a "sellable" story.

Michael Moran

senior service engineer

SEZ America Inc.

The editorial comment "A few bad apples" is an excellent one. I have been working in the semiconductor industry for more than 14 years and I certainly agree with Ed that the US semiconductor industry does an excellent job of maintaining safety. Furthermore, this industry is constantly making an effort to make it even safer. Those few bad apples are the exceptions, definitely not the rule.

Dr. Prasit Sricharoenchaikit

principal engineer

Integrated Semiconductor Business Unit

M/A-COM, an AMP company