Yeongsangang Environmental Office Actively Promotes Measures to Prevent Water Pollution Accidents

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] The Yeongsangang River Basin Environmental Office announced on the 19th that it is actively responding to water pollution accidents occurring in the Gwangju and Jeonnam areas by continuously implementing prevention and response measures such as controlling the spread of pollution in cooperation with related organizations.

The Yeongsangang Environmental Office plans to conduct on-site water pollution accident response training at Yeongsancheon in Naju on the 20th, jointly with the Environmental Corporation and involving officials from 10 local governments.

So far, close cooperation with related organizations (local governments, Environmental Corporation) has been maintained to respond to water pollution accidents, and initial containment efforts have prevented further spread of pollution.

Water pollution accidents occur when pollutants such as oil and heavy metals enter public water bodies (rivers, lakes, canals, etc.), causing damage to public life and aquatic ecosystems. These accidents manifest as oil spills, chemical spills such as organic solvents, toxic substance inflows, and fish deaths due to temporary dissolved oxygen deficiency.

Despite difficult times such as the spread of COVID-19, the Yeongsangang Environmental Office continues to implement containment measures while promoting non-face-to-face accident prevention and response measures.

The originally scheduled joint on-site training with related organizations was conducted on the 27th of last month as a video discussion training to prepare for water source water pollution accidents, strengthening cooperation by familiarizing related organizations with their roles.

To prevent and promptly respond to water pollution accidents in the Yeongsangang and Seomjingang river basins, aerial surveillance using drones and patrols by environmental guardians are also being conducted.

Using drones, investigations were conducted twice on the main stream, tributaries, and small streams of the Yeongsangang River regarding the storage status of compost and liquid fertilizer, ensuring proper storage. Additionally, 38 environmental guardians patrol 37 sections of the Yeongsangang and Seomjingang river basins to monitor and educate against environmental pollution activities and promote awareness among local residents.

To enhance the accident response capabilities of local government officials, two real-time video training sessions using videos on the use of containment materials and response procedures, as well as ‘Kakao Live Talk’, have been conducted.

Director Ryu Yeon-gi stated, “We will not neglect prevention and response efforts to minimize water pollution accidents that occur unpredictably,” and urged, “We ask local governments and residents to actively cooperate in accident prevention.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.