Kim Dong-yeon "Fire-contaminated Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek River Cleanup Completed in 38 Days"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon promised to pay close attention until residents feel assured, announcing that the containment of the Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek rivers, polluted by the hazardous materials warehouse fire in Yanggam-myeon, Hwaseong City on the 9th of last month, was completed after 38 days.

On the 19th, Governor Kim posted on his social media (SNS), stating, "The containment of the Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek rivers, which I visited as my first schedule after returning from the Davos trip on the 22nd of last month, has been completed."

Text and photo posted by Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, on his SNS on the 19th

He continued, "After 38 days of containment work, the environmental ministry's water quality standards have been met, so the containment dikes have been dismantled and discharge has begun," emphasizing, "We will thoroughly check to ensure there is no additional contamination remaining in the soil and groundwater."

He also added, "We are well aware of the concerns of residents, including nearby factories and crops," and said, "We will pay close attention until everyone feels safe."

Earlier, immediately after returning from the World Economic Forum (WEF, Davos Forum), on the morning of the 22nd of last month at 10 a.m., Governor Kim visited the confluence of Jinwicheon in Baekbong-ri, Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek City to inspect the site and discussed response measures with officials at the Yanggam Water Quality Restoration Center in Yanggam-myeon, Hwaseong City.

Previously, at around 9:55 p.m. on the 9th of last month, a fire at a hazardous materials warehouse in Yanggam-myeon, Hwaseong City caused harmful chemicals to flow into nearby small streams and management streams, resulting in water pollution damage over an 8.5 km section.

Gyeonggi Province immediately formed an emergency response support team and allocated 3 billion KRW from the disaster management fund to Hwaseong City and Pyeongtaek City. Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek cities installed 19 containment dikes and deployed tank lorries to block contaminated water from flowing into Jinwicheon, focusing efforts on blocking the polluted water.