Buried industrial waste to be unearthed by Four Rivers dredging

[한겨레] Environmental experts say environmental contamination could result unless the administration first investigates the area

By Choi Sang-won and Kim Kwang-su　

Tens of thousands of tons of industrial waste and surplus soil lie buried under the waterfront of the Nakdong River in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, a group announced. The area is part of the construction area for the Lee Myung-bak administration's Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. As the waste burial site is adjacent to a potable water intake station supplying drinking water to some two million Busan citizens, observers are expressing concern that if the area is dredged according to the administration's plans, environmental contamination will be unavoidable. The Special Committee for the South Gyeongsang Nakdong River Project is calling on the government to halt all construction on the Nakdong River Zone in South Gyeongsang Province and carry out a thorough investigation.

During a press conference Thursday at the South Gyeongsang Provincial Office, the committee announced that anywhere from hundreds of thousands to millions of tons of soil and industrial waste from Busan-area construction sites are buried in an area of Gimhae covering around one million square meters in Nakdong River Zones 8 and 9 at Sangdong Township and Zone 15 at Hallim Township.

In a cultural asset investigation last August, the Busan Regional Construction and Management Administration (BRCMA) confirmed that waste matter is buried over an area of 63 thousand square meters in Sangdong Township alone. The committee estimated that some 220 thousand tons of waste materials are buried in the area confirmed by the BRCMA.

The committee said that the Sangdong waste burial site covers an area of 3.3 kilometers in length and 300 to 500 meters in width at the waterfront between the Nakdong River embankment and the river itself. It predicted that if the depth is estimated to be two meters, the total amount of buried waste would be approximately three million tons.

The administration has commissioned South Gyeongsang Province to dredge the waterfront in this area and build bicycle paths and eco-parks in certain areas. According to this plan, around one-third of the waste matter would be dredged and applied to surrounding farmland, while an eco-park would be built on top of the remaining burial site.

Approximately two kilometers downstream from the area confirmed to contain buried waste is the Maeri water intake station, which supplies 630 thousand tons of drinking water each day to some 2.02 million Busan residents, representing around 57 percent of the city's population. Many have expressed concern about potential potable water source contamination, given the strong possibility that harmful waste materials will flow into the intake source if the project is carried forward.

Some of the waste materials buried in Hallim Tonwship leaked out during dredging in June, contaminating nearby farmland, but the amount of material buried and the area of the burial site hasnot yet been determined, the committee said. The waste material here came from Busan-area construction sites beginning in the 1990s, and there have already been a number of discoveries, investigations, and punishments.

"The BRCMA confirmed months ago that this waste matter was buried, yet it did not take any particular measures in response," the committee said. The committee urged the government to "halt the construction in this area until an investigation of the waste burial situation in this area and a plan for treatment have been established, and carry out a thorough investigation of other project areas in South Gyeongsang Province as well."

"If you look at the environmental impact assessment, it says that a soil investigation showed no problems," said Park Chang-geun, co-chair of the committee. "We have to question whether the government carried out a proper investigation when it was preparing for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project."

The BRMCA said, "In the area of Sangdong Township in Gimhae, waste matter has been discovered and the start of construction will have to be delayed, while in the Hallim Township area, dredging efforts are being carried out except in the area suspected of containing buried waste."

"We sent an official notice to South Gyeongsang Province on Aug. 9 notifying them of this fact," the agency added.

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