Tap water [123RF]
Tap water [123RF]

Uranium, a harmful radioactive substance, has been detected above the drinking water quality standard at a water intake source on Seogeomdo, an island in Incheon's Ganghwa-gun near the North Korean border.

Water quality inspectors believe naturally occurring uranium from bedrock may be responsible, but environmental groups are calling for a thorough investigation into the cause, according to the Incheon Ilbo on Sunday.

According to Incheon's Waterworks Authority, a water quality test conducted on Seogeomdo in Samsan-myeon on July 6 found uranium levels exceeding the drinking water standard of 30 micrograms per liter.

In response, the authority tested raw water from two collection wells on the island on July 16 and confirmed that one exceeded the permissible limit. As a follow-up measure, residents were advised not to drink water from the affected well, and the facility was taken out of service.

The authority's water quality research institute said uranium in the bedrock surrounding the well is the most likely cause.

Last year, concerns spread through online communities and far-right YouTube channels that wastewater from a uranium refinery in Pyongsan, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was flowing into the Yellow Sea and could contaminate waters off Incheon.

In response, the government has been monitoring water quality along the Incheon coast, the Han River, the Imjin River and areas of Ganghwa near the mouth of the Yeseong River — which lies close to the refinery — and said no anomalies have been found in uranium and heavy metal analyses conducted so far.

With one of the two collection wells temporarily shut down, residents are buying bottled water from the mainland for drinking. The only way for residents of Seogeomdo — which lies within the civilian control zone — to reach the mainland is by boat.


husn7@heraldcorp.com