TCE Levels Exceed Standards at 14 out of 43 Sites
Up to 11 Times Higher at Former Rocket Battery and Honam Shani Sites
Buk-gu Fails to Secure Project Funding... Remediation Not Initiated
Following the discovery of groundwater contamination at Hanam Industrial Complex in Gwangju, similar pollution has also been confirmed at Bonchon Industrial Complex. However, it has effectively been left unaddressed for several years.
According to Gwangju City and Buk-gu District on July 15, Buk-gu commissioned the Korea Rural Community Corporation to investigate groundwater and soil contamination in the Bonchon Industrial Complex area from December 2019 to December 2021. The city initiated a detailed investigation after its groundwater management plan for the same year revealed that pollutant levels at certain sites exceeded regulatory standards.
Out of a total of 43 locations tested, 14 were found to have trichloroethylene (TCE) levels in groundwater exceeding the quality standards. TCE is a Group 1 carcinogen used in metal cleaners, adhesive additives, and as a raw material for pesticides. Notably, concentrations nine times the standard were detected at the former Rocket Battery site, and eleven times the standard at the Honam Shani site.
Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a carcinogen of the same class, was found to be below the standard at all sites. No pollutants were detected in the soil samples, or they were found to be below the regulatory threshold.
Buk-gu believes that this contamination likely resulted from the use of TCE and PCE during the 1980s and 1990s, when Bonchon Industrial Complex was established and relevant regulations were inadequate. It is considered highly probable that waste disposal and pollutant management within the industrial complex were not properly conducted at the time.
Remediation measures have also been proposed. The investigation report recommends purifying the contaminated groundwater and blocking its spread using a pump-and-treat method. The estimated project cost is approximately 5.4 billion won. However, aside from installing a supplementary monitoring network downstream of Bonchon Industrial Complex in 2022, Buk-gu has yet to take any further follow-up action.
The district stated that since Bonchon Industrial Complex is included in this year's "Soil and Groundwater Environmental Survey" project led by the Ministry of Environment, it plans to formulate additional measures based on the results of the survey, which are scheduled to be released at the end of the year.
An official from Buk-gu said, "After the investigation, we attempted to secure project funding in cooperation with the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, but were unsuccessful. We will actively respond to ensure that the remediation project can proceed quickly for the safety of residents and environmental protection."
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