Illegal Wastewater Discharge Persists Among Gyeonggi-do Knowledge Industry Center Tenants... Provincial Special Judicial Police Caught 14 Sites

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] It has been revealed that illegal wastewater discharge by companies residing in knowledge industry centers in Gyeonggi Province continues.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare announced on the 3rd that from the 4th to the 21st of last month, they inspected 120 wastewater discharge workplaces within knowledge industry centers in nine areas?Suwon, Hwaseong, Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang, Bucheon, Gimpo, Seongnam, and Hanam?where knowledge industry centers are concentrated, and found 14 places violating the Water Environment Conservation Act.

Among the major cases detected, Company A in Bucheon City, which manufactures ink products, was caught operating without reporting the installation of wastewater discharge facilities to the competent authority, despite generating about 50㎥ of wastewater monthly during the process of mixing or cleaning containers used for storing raw materials.

Company B in Seongnam City, which manufactures semiconductor parts, did not obtain permission from the competent authority for installing wastewater discharge facilities despite generating wastewater during the semiconductor parts cutting process, and discharged the wastewater into public water bodies. An inspection of the pollution level of wastewater from Company B confirmed that copper, a specific water quality hazardous substance, was detected at 17.7㎎/ℓ, approximately 177 times the permitted standard (0.1㎎/ℓ).

Company C in Anyang City, which manufactures medical substances, was found to have discharged wastewater into public water bodies without obtaining permission for wastewater discharge facilities from the competent authority, despite wastewater generation during cleaning and acid treatment processes. Pollution tests showed that lead, a specific water quality hazardous substance, exceeded the permitted standard (0.01㎎/ℓ) by five times.

Company D in Suwon City, which manufactures semiconductor parts, was caught during this crackdown for operating unreported wastewater discharge facilities by storing all generated wastewater and outsourcing its treatment, despite the pollution level test showing copper, a specific water quality hazardous substance, exceeded the permitted standard during semiconductor manufacturing wastewater inspection.

Five companies operating physicochemical testing facilities in Seongnam and Uiwang exceeded the reporting criteria for wastewater discharge facilities (physicochemical testing facility area of 100㎡) but did not report them. Pollution tests confirmed the presence of multiple specific water quality hazardous substances, including benzene and dichloromethane.

According to the Water Environment Conservation Act, those who install or operate unauthorized wastewater discharge facilities face imprisonment of up to seven years or fines up to 70 million won; those who install or operate unreported wastewater discharge facilities face imprisonment of up to five years or fines up to 50 million won; and those who discharge specific water quality hazardous substances into public water bodies face imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million won.

Kim Min-kyung, head of the Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Public Welfare, stated, "We plan to prosecute based on the specific amount and pollution level of discharged wastewater from the illegal facilities detected," and added, "We will continuously crack down on illegal activities such as operating unauthorized wastewater discharge facilities and discharging specific water quality hazardous substances into public water bodies."

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