The Camp Market Environmental Cleanup Public-Private Council is inspecting the soil contamination remediation facility site. [Photo by Incheon City]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The large-scale high-concentration dioxin-contaminated soil at the former U.S. military base 'Camp Market' in Bupyeong-gu, which returned to the citizens of Incheon last October, has been completely purified.
The Ministry of National Defense Camp Market Environmental Cleanup Public-Private Council held a press conference at Incheon City Hall on the 29th and announced that the cleanup project for 11,031㎥ of dioxin-contaminated soil in Area A of Camp Market was successfully completed.
This marks 2 years and 6 months since the start of the Camp Market contamination cleanup project in May 2019, and it is the first time in Korea that a large-scale dioxin-contaminated soil has been completely purified.
Recent soil analysis results from this site showed a dioxin contamination level of 2.18 picograms, which is much lower than the target level of 100 picograms (pg-TEQ/g).
One picogram is one trillionth of a gram, and 100 picograms is the standard applied to soil in playgrounds for infants in Europe, including Germany. The cleanup target for Camp Market was also set at 100 picograms through a public hearing with residents in March 2018.
The contaminated soil cleanup project, led by a consortium of Korea Environment Corporation and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, was carried out in the heart of a densely populated residential area, prioritizing citizen safety. The thermal desorption method was used to completely separate dioxin from the soil, and the separated gas was detoxified through a thermal oxidation process before being released, purifying both the soil and the air.
An Incheon city official stated, "The public and private sectors cooperated to set the dioxin cleanup target and verified the entire cleanup process, playing a significant role in alleviating citizens' concerns," adding, "It is a model case of actively seeking solutions to environmental issues together with citizens."
Meanwhile, in Area A of Camp Market (approximately 11㎡), cleanup projects for not only dioxin-contaminated soil but also petroleum and heavy metal-contaminated soil are being conducted simultaneously, with the entire Area A cleanup project expected to be completed by September next year.
Bupyeong Camp Market had 210,000㎡ of land returned first out of the total 440,000㎡ according to the Korea-U.S. agreement in December 2019, and the remaining 230,000㎡ in Area D is scheduled to be returned in April next year.
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