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Following the Gongchon water purification plant where the first caterpillar was found in Incheon, the same caterpillar appeared in the Bupyeong water purification plant. It was revealed through a detailed investigation, and the larva was not identified in the previous two general investigations.

Reporter Kwon Young-in.

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Incheon Bupyeong Water Purification Plant.

800,000 residents of Gyeyang-gu and Bupyeong-gu, Incheon are consuming water from this water purification plant.

After the first larvae were found at the Gongchon Water Purification Plant in Incheon last week, other water purification plants were investigated, and worms that appeared to be the same larva were found in the Bupyeong Water Purification Plant and in three corresponding reservoirs.

I did not find it in the previous two general investigations, but it was confirmed yesterday (18th) as a result of the detailed investigation.

[Kim Hyun-han/Director of the Hangang Water Supply Center, Korea Water Resources Corporation: I did not appear in the (water purification plant) investigation before, but the (larvae) came out of the drainage investigation, so I did a detailed investigation. I couldn't find anything alive. Dead (larvae presumed objects have

been found )] Caterpillar presumed objects have been found not only in water purification facilities but also in five homes where tap water is supplied.

This is the first time that a larva has been identified in a family home in another area besides the jurisdiction of the Gongchon Water Purification Plant.

Authorities are paying attention to the ozone treatment facility that was installed last year, and are looking for the cause of how the larvae passed through the filter to filter out microorganisms.

[Kyungyoon Jung/Director of the Han River Basin Environment Department, Ministry of Environment: Most of the time it is filtered by sand filtration. Naturally, the larvae should also be filtered, but further investigation is needed in this area.] The

Ministry of Environment is conducting emergency hygiene checks at 44 water purification plants nationwide.

Caterpillars have not been identified in other regions except Incheon, but since it is a general survey, the possibility of further discovery cannot be ruled out if a detailed investigation is conducted, such as the Bupyeong Water Purification Plant.

(Video coverage: Lim Dong-guk, Video editing: Park Ji-in)