Results of Health Impact Survey on Environmentally Vulnerable Areas Related to Former Semyung Enterprise
Governor Park Junghyun Hopes to Ease Residents' Concerns
Buyeo County, Chungnam Province, announced on the 16th that no direct correlation was found between the suspected illegal waste landfill by the former Saemyeong Enterprise and the incidence of cancer among residents in the nearby area.
The county made this announcement during the final report meeting for the health impact assessment of environmentally vulnerable areas related to the former Saemyeong Enterprise, held at the Disaster Comprehensive Situation Room on the 13th.
The former Saemyeong Enterprise was a company that handled industrial waste in the Jangam-myeon area from 1998 to 2018. Although the company closed after its representative passed away in 2018, complaints about river pollution and foul odors continued even after its closure.
In response, the county confirmed the illegal landfill of waste by the former Saemyeong Enterprise in 2022 and took administrative action and filed charges against the inheritor in February 2023.
The health impact assessment was conducted by Chungnam Province in December last year, targeting residents of five villages near the former Saemyeong Enterprise, to analyze the correlation between pollutants and health damage among residents and to establish health management measures.
The province investigated: △seasonal emission status of pollutants (heavy metals, VOCs, PAHs, etc.) at the illegal landfill site △pollution levels of various environmental media (air, water quality, soil, etc.) in residential areas △resident surveys △analysis of pollutant concentrations in the body (blood, urine, etc.) △analysis of health examination data.
The investigation found environmental pollution such as river contamination and odor caused by leachate from the illegal landfill. However, it was determined that there was no direct correlation between the environmental pollution and the incidence of cancer among nearby residents.
Accordingly, the county plans to install rainwater and groundwater exclusion facilities and leachate purification facilities to treat leachate generated from the illegal landfill site.
County Governor Park Junghyun said, “We have worked to alleviate local anxiety by clarifying the correlation between hazardous substances from illegal waste landfills and the health of county residents,” and added, “I hope the results of this investigation will help ease residents' concerns.”
He also said, “Since there are many cases of illegal waste disposal, both large and small, in each local government, we will produce a white paper documenting the handling of this incident to prevent similar cases from occurring in the future.”
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