Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Uncover 8 Illegal Cases Including Unauthorized Discharge of Wastewater Exceeding Permitted Standards by 530 Times
[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Illegal practices by wastewater discharge businesses within knowledge industry centers, including unauthorized discharge of wastewater exceeding permitted standards by 530 times, have been uncovered by Gyeonggi Province's Special Judicial Police Unit.
The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 28th that it had identified 8 violations as a result of intensive crackdowns on wastewater discharge businesses in knowledge industry centers in Seongnam, Bucheon, Anyang, and Gunpo from October 5-22.
The violations consisted of 3 cases of operating unlicensed wastewater discharge facilities and discharging specific water-harmful substances into public waters, and 5 cases of operating unreported wastewater discharge facilities.
Looking at major cases uncovered, Company 'A' manufacturing electronic components in Gunpo discharged wastewater generated during product cutting into public waters. Pollution testing showed that copper, a specific water-harmful substance, exceeded the discharge facility's permitted standard (0.1㎎/ℓ) by 8 times.
Company 'B' manufacturing semiconductor components in Anyang operated an unlicensed wastewater discharge facility using approximately 200 tons of tap water per month.
Pollution testing results showed that copper, a specific water-harmful substance, exceeded the permitted standard by approximately 530 times, and antimony exceeded the permitted standard (0.02㎎/ℓ) by 6 times respectively.
Additionally, wastewater containing large quantities of heavy metals such as nickel and zinc was found to have been discharged into public waters.
Company 'C', a plastic material manufacturer in Seongnam, operated a physicochemical laboratory for product testing at a scale approximately 6 times larger than the reporting standard of 100㎡ without filing a report.
Under the Water Environment Conservation Act, those installing or operating unlicensed wastewater discharge facilities face imprisonment of up to 7 years or fines up to 70 million won, while those installing or operating unreported wastewater discharge facilities face imprisonment of up to 5 years or fines up to 50 million won respectively.
Yoon Tae-wan, head of Gyeonggi Province's Civil Life Special Judicial Police Unit, said, "We plan to refer the uncovered illegal facilities with specific details regarding the amount of discharged wastewater and pollution levels," and "We will request strong administrative measures such as closure orders and suspension of operations for the violating businesses from the relevant cities and counties."