Pyeongtaek City: "Hwaseonghwa Fire River Contaminated Water Treatment Takes Over 10 Days"

As of the 14th, 2700t processed... "Total processing volume expected up to 70,000t"
Market "Disaster area declaration needed"... "Claim for damages against companies"

During the fire extinguishing process of the fire that occurred on the 9th in Yanggam-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, it is expected to take about two more weeks to treat the contaminated water that flowed into the stream. The volume of contaminated water requiring treatment is estimated to range from at least 30,000 tons to a maximum of 70,000 tons.

Pyeongtaek City and the fire authorities are conducting containment operations to treat contaminated water flowing into the waterway managed by Pyeongtaek City. [Yonhap News]

On the 15th, Jeong Jang-seon, mayor of Pyeongtaek City, held an emergency briefing at City Hall and explained, "As of the 14th, the city has treated about 2,700 tons of contaminated water," adding, "It is also understood that Hwaseong City has treated over 2,000 tons of contaminated water." Mayor Jeong further stated, "The total volume of contaminated water reaches between 30,000 and 60,000 tons, and it is expected that the containment work will take 10 to 15 days."

Earlier, on the night of the 9th in Yodang-ri, Yanggam-myeon, Hwaseong, a fire broke out at the warehouse of Company K, which handles hazardous chemicals. During the fire suppression process, contaminated water flowed into a 7.4 km section of a small stream connected to Jinwi Stream, a national river, prompting Pyeongtaek City, Hwaseong City, and fire authorities to carry out containment operations.

Pyeongtaek City explained that to prevent the spread of water pollution, containment embankments have been installed at a total of five locations so far, while 17 sluice gates and six agricultural drainage channels have been blocked, and 100 kg of dead fish have been collected.

Mayor Jeong said, "To ensure rapid containment, we have requested early disbursement of local allocation tax and special adjustment grants from the government and Gyeonggi Province," adding, "We have also proposed to the government to declare Cheongbuk-eup and Oseong-myeon areas as special disaster zones."

Mayor Jeong also announced a strong intention to claim compensation from Company K, where the fire occurred. He said, "The most urgent matter now is rapid containment work, so we will closely cooperate with related organizations such as the government, Gyeonggi Province, the Han River Basin Environmental Office, and Hwaseong City," adding, "However, since hundreds of billions of won have been spent on containment work, we will hold the company strictly accountable by claiming compensation and damages."

The city plans to thoroughly track groundwater and soil contamination, as well as crop damage resulting from this contaminated water leakage. To this end, a related reporting window will be established at the Agricultural Technology Center, and water pollution and groundwater quality inspections will be conducted regularly.

Mayor Jeong explained, "We will take this accident as a lesson and manage thoroughly to establish a preemptive defense system to prevent similar cases from occurring."

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