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large smelter affiliated with a large company located upstream of the Nakdong River has been caught in violation of 11 environmental laws. It has already been punished several times by polluting the surrounding air, water and land, but it is not improving.

Reporter Chan-Bum Park covered.

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Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter is located in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, where zinc ore is heated to a very high temperature to produce large amounts of zinc.

Moreover, Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter is located near the origin of the Nakdong River, a drinking water source in the Yeongnam region, and is surrounded by mountains.

The Ministry of Environment conducted a special inspection in April, and 11 violations were discovered in the air, water, soil, and waste.

The five chimneys in the plant emitted up to 9.9 times the zinc compound compared to the emission limit.

As the water pollution problem raised last year was not improved, the analysis of the Ministry of Environment showed that the cadmium concentration was up to 330,000 times in the factory site and up to 16,000 times higher in the surrounding rivers.


[Noh Hee-kyung / Ministry may Ecological Conservation Division. If such smelters cadmium concentration of fish between the upstream and downstream areas nagoyo a difference of up to 10 times]

Ministry of Environment has commissioned the administrative penalty to the competent municipality and the parts prosecution require criminal penalties It is a policy to send.

However, since 2013, 69 cases have been caught in violation of environmental laws.

Environmental groups are protesting that the pollution-causing behavior is repeated despite numerous crackdowns.

[Singiseon / Youngpoong smelter joint committee chairperson: (fine), but 2 million to 3 million won (so is) crackdown continues, I'll trade is continuing not continue and should also improve improvement -

but Gyeongsangbuk side last year from the Ministry of Environment The state has filed an objection for overtaking the suspension.

The smelter said that this special inspection is a retaliation against the complaint from Gyeongbuk Province, and many of the points that have been pointed out are already being corrected.

(Video coverage: Seol Min-hwan, Video editing: Jang Hyun-gi)