After gas leaks, Gumi to be ‘special disaster zone’

The government plans to designate the villages devastated by the Sept. 27 toxic gas leak from a chemical plant a “special disaster zone.” The move is to ensure rapid recovery.

The Environment Ministry said Sunday it will implement the measure after an investigation team dispatched to Bongsan-ri, one of the hydrofluoric acid-hit villages last Thursday, completes an on-site assessment. Officials said the measure will make it possible to plan compensation packages from central government to the residents.

There are reports of the gas leak taking a toll on the health of residents, with an increase in the cases of skin inflammations and respiratory disorders, prompting villagers to urgently evacuate from the area. More than 3,100 people in the region have also been treated for headache, eye irritation since the leak, according to Gumi City. Many simply see that as a proactive measure rather than waiting for the outcome of government’s enquiry.

About 110 residents of Bongsan-ri evacuated to a food waste disposal facility in a neighboring village over the weekend, bringing some clothes and medicines with them.

Another 190 people in Imcheon-ri also moved to a youth center in another village. There are complaints from farmers about damages to their livestock and crops, with over 1,100 vehicles receiving corrosive damage.

Added to an already bad situation, the financial toll has also been very massive, with the city government reporting that 77 companies within the Gumi industrial complex recording some 19 billion won in losses as of Sunday, as a direct consequence of the explosion forcing them to momentarily suspend operations.

With fears of the chemical leak’s aftermath growing, residents are criticizing the government’s delayed response to the accident.

Environment Minister Yoo Young-sook, the top official of the ministry in charge of the situation, visited the scene on Saturday, nine days after the accident, during which she announced government’s response plan to designate the region as a disaster zone and make public findings of the investigations as soon as possible.

Residents were however enraged by her seemingly insensitive gesture of spending time to fraternize with local financial and political heavyweights. Many saw her act of distributing her name card to residents as sheer politic gimmicking.

A local resident is reported to question whether the minister came “to do electioneering,” and wondered “how come the environment minister came at this belated time for a disaster of such scale?”

Yoo is said to have apologized to the community then headed to the damaged area before returning to Seoul.

On Sept. 27, an explosion occurred inside the factory of Hube Global at 3:45 p.m., a small chemical firm, while several workers were attempting to unload hydrofluoric acid from a tanker. Five workers were killed and 16 others were injured. <The Korea Times/Kim Rahn>

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