We live our lives with almost daily reports of harmful material contaminating the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the foods we eat. And when we hear those reports, the one thing that makes the country laugh and cry is the question of whether the contamination exceeds the legally permissible levels. Consumers try to choose what is not over those levels, and the success or failure of people who produce or sell contaminable products is determined by whether or not their products are within officially safe levels or not. What happens, then, if the accuracy of contamination measurement is unreliable? Would that not mean the people have been taken for a ride?
There are reports that considerable problems exist in the methods used for assuring the accuracy of environmental analysis. Only 27 items in 5 categories overseen by the Ministry of the Environment have accurate controls, out of 304 items in 9 categories. Last year a research institute associated with the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement [sic] had the internationally certified Korea Water Resources Corporation analyze the water from 52 small-scale water supply facilities in Gangwon Province. The results showed that of the 14 areas inspected, half had one item or more over legal levels, and yet in studies by local government health and welfare centers responsible for overseeing those facilities, the yearly average rate of violation of those levels is 3.14 percent. That shows how the current state of accuracy in contamination measurement.
The policies and administration done by the Ministry of the Environment are like houses built on sand if basic figures from environmental analysis are inaccurate. It is too much to expect there to not be holes in the whole program when the National Institute of Environmental Research has only 3 people responsible for managing contamination measurement at 530 government agencies around the country and when in 2004 they had a budget of only W170 million. Improving the quality of how the environment is administered will first require a proper program for accurate oversight of contamination levels.
The Hankyoreh, 19 October 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] Inaccurate Measurement of Environmental Contamination |
