Mapo-gu Orders Detailed Soil Investigation to Seoul City and Korea Midland Power

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District (second from the left), is observing the soil contamination investigation at the planned site for the new resource recovery facility in Sangam-dong on August 28. (Photo by Mapo District)

On the 20th, Mapo-gu, Seoul, which conducted a comprehensive investigation of seven local nuisance facilities including the planned site for a new metropolitan resource recovery facility (waste incineration plant), announced that it will take strong administrative measures such as demanding a detailed soil investigation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, responsible for remediation, and Korea Midland Power Co., Ltd.

A Mapo-gu official explained, “It is a very unusual and strong measure for a district, which heavily depends on Seoul for budget, administration, and manpower, to request a detailed soil investigation from the city. This indicates that the soil contamination situation is severe.”

On the 28th of last month, Mapo-gu conducted its own investigation of seven sites including Korea Midland Power Seoul Power Headquarters (formerly Danginri Power Plant), the Oil Tank Culture Park (formerly an oil storage facility), the fuel cell power plant, and the planned site for the Sanggam-dong waste incineration plant, confirming soil contamination at all locations. In particular, among eight investigation points within 300 meters of the planned Sanggam-dong waste incineration plant site, fluoride exceeding up to 195% of the standard was detected at seven points except for one. Additionally, soil contamination tests conducted on three areas of the Danginri Power Plant revealed fluoride levels of 406 mg/kg, 517 mg/kg, and 491 mg/kg, exceeding the soil contamination concern standard of 400 mg/kg.

Since the district has requested a detailed soil investigation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea Midland Power, it plans to take all available follow-up measures, such as issuing remediation orders under the Soil Environment Conservation Act, if the detailed investigation results show soil contamination exceeding the standard.

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, stated, “We will never overlook soil contamination that threatens the health and safety of Mapo residents. Seoul and Korea Midland Power must not underestimate the soil contamination issue and must immediately conduct a detailed investigation and take responsible measures to alleviate the concerns of Mapo residents.”

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