4,000 Liters of Oil Spill in Yugucheon, Gongju... Full-Scale Containment Efforts Underway

Gongju City, Chungnam Province, announced on the 23rd that it is making every effort to contain an oil spill following a tanker accident on the Daejeon-Dangjin Expressway in Yugueup on the 21st.

According to the city, at around 6:50 a.m. on the 21st, a tanker truck skidded on the icy road of the Daejeon-Dangjin Expressway in Yugueup, causing the tank to rupture after colliding with a bridge pier.

As a result of the accident, approximately 4,000 liters of oil were spilled and flowed into Yugucheon through the stormwater drainage system.

In response, city officials, firefighters, police officers, and representatives from the Korea Environment Corporation were urgently dispatched to the scene, deploying 27 pieces of equipment, including waste oil treatment vehicles and excavators, to carry out containment operations.

The city has established five layers of containment booms (oil fences) to prevent oil from flowing downstream in Yugucheon and is focusing on removing the oil near the uppermost stream. However, it is reported that the freezing of the river is making containment efforts difficult.

The city plans to conduct water quality surveys of Yugucheon, focusing on the affected farmland and contaminated areas near the accident site.

In particular, as the Yugu Water Purification Plant is located nearby, the city has taken measures to use a 190-meter-deep rock groundwater well developed for drought preparedness and an emergency water supply line (emergency connection to Gongju Water Purification Plant) instead of drawing water from the plant's intake.

In addition, water quality inspections of both raw and purified water at the Yugu Water Purification Plant will be conducted daily until containment operations are completed.

Mayor Choi Woncheol said, "We are making every effort in the containment operation to minimize the damage from the oil spill accident," and added, "We will pay special attention to the water supply to ensure that residents do not experience inconvenience regarding drinking water and related issues."

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