Fear of Dioxin..

Take bolder action to prevent river contamination..

Residents in the southeastern city of Daegu have continually worried about tap water being polluted with toxic industrial chemicals. The latest detection of dioxin in the Nakdong River is raising the specter of an environmental disaster. There is no doubt that the contamination was caused by loose control of the toxic substance leaked by textile firms nearby.

The state and provincial authorities come under severe ciriticism for neglection their job of preventing the influx of industrial chemicals into the river, a source of drinking water for about 10 million residents in North and South Gyeongsang provinces. The river pollution not only poses a threat to human health but also wreaks havoc on the ecosystem.

It is too bad to see the dioxin row days after the Lee Myung-bak administration announced its
'Green New Deal,' aimed at promoting low-carbon green growth and creating more jobs amid the global financial and economic crisis. The government has also launched the refurbishment of the nation's four major river-Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yongsan. How can the state realize its goal of green growth without even preventing river contamination?

The figure is higher than the permissible level recommended by the World Health Organization.
The levels then went down after the upstream Andong Dam released 50 tons of water.

Authorities are now being slammed for having done little to find a fundamental solution and just attributing the dioxin detection to a decline in the river's water level due to months of drought that helped increase the density of the chemical. One official even told people just to boil tap water before drinking it so the dioxin could evaporate. Authorities had better recognize the harmful effects of dioxin, widely known as a carcinogen.

Stricter regulation on dioxin and other toxic chemicals is essential to protection river and tap water sources. However, authorities only control the release of dioxin in accordance with a voluntary agreement with factory operators.

It is imperative that authorities immediately enforce tougher, legally binding rules to avoid further river pollutions. The nation should take radical action to prevent an environmental catastrophe before it's too late.