[Exclusive] 5,000㎡ Around US Military Base Contaminated with Oil and Heavy Metals for Years

4368 Soil Samples Collected Around US Military Base
Heavy Metals Detected Exceeding Contamination Standards
US Military Is Source of Pollution but Cleanup Orders Cannot Be Issued
No Risk Assessment Conducted... Government and Local Authorities Unaware

Camp Red Cloud area located in Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 4th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

An investigation revealed that approximately 5,000㎡ of soil surrounding a U.S. military base is contaminated with oil and heavy metals classified as Group 1 carcinogens. Although it is highly likely that the pollutants originated from the U.S. military base, the site has been left unattended for years because it has not been determined who is responsible for environmental cleanup. Some areas exceeded contamination standards, but since risk assessments were not conducted, neither the government nor local authorities have been able to ascertain the extent of the danger to residents.

Large Amounts of Human-Deadly Heavy Metals Detected Around U.S. Military Bases

According to the "2023 Environmental Pollution Survey and Evaluation Report on Soil and Groundwater Around U.S. Forces Korea" obtained by Asia Economy on the 4th, soil contamination was found over a total area of 4,944㎡ around six U.S. military bases (Camp Red Cloud, Seongnam Golf Course, Madison Site, Gwangju Airfield, Camp George, Warrior Base). The contaminated volume was 3,298㎥, with contamination depth estimated at about 3 meters. The soil pollutants included petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), a type of oil, and heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, and zinc, which are highly toxic to humans.

This report is the result of a baseline environmental survey conducted by the Korea Environment Corporation from May 23 of last year to January 28 of this year. The corporation invested 1.21619 billion KRW to collect 4,368 soil samples around U.S. military bases and performed a total of 15,251 analyses.

The largest contaminated area was around Camp Red Cloud, a U.S. military return base located in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, covering 2,896㎡. Camp Red Cloud was returned to Korea after the U.S. forces relocated to Camp Humphreys in 2016. Around Camp Red Cloud, TPH, cadmium, lead, and zinc were detected. The contaminated volume was also the largest at 1,503㎥. Although not included in the report, field investigators noted that concentrations of various substances at some survey points exceeded permissible limits.

The next largest contaminated area was the Seongnam Golf Course, where arsenic was detected over 1,409㎡. The contaminated volume reached 875㎥. The Seongnam Golf Course was land used by the U.S. military as a golf course since 1991 but was closed in 2017 when U.S. forces moved from Yongsan Base to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. TPH was detected over 443㎡ at the Madison Site, and TPH was also found over 84㎡ and 46㎡ at Gwangju Airfield and Warrior Base, respectively. Around Camp George, arsenic and zinc were confirmed over an area of 66㎡.

U.S. Military Is the Source of Pollution, but Cleanup Orders Cannot Be Issued

The government and local authorities consider the U.S. military bases as the source of pollution since there are no other significant pollution sources in the area. This means pollutants leaked from inside the bases to the outside. In fact, when the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of National Defense inspected Camp Red Cloud upon its return, they confirmed contamination of 165,000㎡ with TPH and 45,120㎡ with zinc inside the base. These pollutants match those detected outside the base. The same applies to Seongnam Golf Course, where arsenic concentrations exceeded the standard by 25 times.

The problem is that even with strong suspicion, it is difficult to clearly prove the causal relationship of contamination. Under current law, the Ministry of Environment identifies the status and shares it with city, county, and district governments. Once contamination is identified, local governments start investigating the cause, and if the responsible party is confirmed, the local government issues a restoration order. However, since the pollution source is a U.S. government military facility, local governments cannot conduct independent investigations. To enter the military base for investigation, coordination with the Ministry of National Defense is required, but publicly identifying the U.S. military as the pollution source is problematic.

As a result, the government and local authorities have effectively left the contamination unattended. A Ministry of Environment official explained, "Even if pollutants suspected to have leaked from U.S. military bases are found, the Republic of Korea government does not have the authority to enter the bases for investigation," adding, "Except in cases of major pollution accidents where investigations are requested, it is difficult to hold the U.S. military responsible."

To Clean the Soil, Roads May Need to Be Blocked and Asphalt Broken

On the 30th of last month, Patriot missiles were deployed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Practically, local governments consider cleaning the environment first using their own funds and then recovering costs through legal procedures. Pyeongtaek City is a representative example. Pyeongtaek spent 1.6 billion KRW to clean soil contamination around U.S. military bases and then filed a national claim lawsuit. Due to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), they cannot recover costs from the U.S. military, so they filed the claim against the Korean government. In 2015, Pyeongtaek also cleaned areas around the leased zones, filed a lawsuit, won a partial ruling, and recovered 870 million KRW.

However, some local governments argue this is not a fundamental solution. Even if the soil outside is cleaned, pollutants continue to leak from inside the U.S. military bases. Since cleaning must be done simultaneously inside and outside the bases, coordination with the Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. government is necessary. A local government official expressed reluctance, saying, "If we do not clean both inside and outside the base simultaneously, we will have to spend the budget on cleanup again."

There are also concerns that the cleanup difficulty has increased due to the widespread spread of pollutants. Another local government official said, "In highly urbanized areas, pollutants have already seeped under roads and buildings," adding, "To carry out cleanup work, roads must be completely blocked and asphalt broken, which causes delays." They further added, "Including cleanup costs inside the base, the expenses could amount to hundreds of billions of KRW at minimum."

Residents Bear the Anxiety, Not Knowing How Dangerous It Is

Green Korea United and representatives of the Yongsan Citizens' Assembly for the Creation of a Complete Ecological Peace Park held a press conference on the 3rd of last month near the entrance of Yongsan Children's Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, urging the suspension of the park's closure. Photo by Green Korea United

Residents bear the anxiety caused by the neglect of soil contamination. Neither the government nor local authorities know how dangerous the soil contamination around the area is. Legally, risk assessments are only conducted inside the U.S. military bases when they are returned. The baseline environmental surveys conducted every five years in surrounding areas omit risk assessments. A Korea Environment Corporation official involved in the survey said, "We only determine whether pollutant levels exceed legal standards."

Civil society groups opposing the U.S. military bases and soil contamination issues are growing louder. On the 3rd of last month, environmental organizations including Green Korea United claimed that a large amount of pollutants was detected at the Yongsan returned U.S. military base site and demanded the closure of the children's park built in the area. Near U.S. military accommodations, carcinogens such as benzene and phenols were found to exceed standards by 3.4 times and 2.8 times, respectively. In response, the government stated it would take temporary measures to reduce risks ahead of the site's temporary opening.

Environmental groups argue that legal amendments are fundamentally necessary to solve the problem. A Green Korea United representative said, "Under current law, the Minister of Environment or local government heads issue cleanup orders at their discretion," and insisted, "This should be made mandatory."