Young Poong said on the 13th that it has completed a structure that fundamentally blocks pollutant emissions from the Seokpo Smelter, putting in place a water quality management system.
A representative feature of the Seokpo Smelter's pollutant emission blocking structure is the construction of facilities to prevent groundwater dispersion. Young Poong installed a cutoff wall along an approximately 2.5 km section on the outer perimeter of the Seokpo Smelter.
This fundamentally blocked the external outflow of groundwater that passes beneath the plant. The blocked groundwater is pumped, purified, and then recycled as process water.
Another measure is a zero liquid discharge system. Young Poong built a system to ensure that process wastewater is not discharged outside, even in exceptional situations.
In addition, the company greatly strengthened its rainfall management system so that up to 80 mm of precipitation is fully impounded and then reused. Stormwater is recycled as process water after passing through nonpoint source detention facilities and a stormwater reservoir via the plant's drainage channels.
Young Poong said that thanks to these efforts, water quality at Seokpo points 2 through 4 in the stream in front of the smelter has averaged class 1 to 2 in recent years.
Concentrations of major heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, and mercury were also found to be managed below the detection limits. In addition, the otter, an endangered species, has been found in the stream, and various species such as lenok and the long-tailed goral are known to inhabit the area.
These efforts follow the environmental improvement and innovation plan that Young Poong released in 2019. Young Poong invested 540 billion won through last year in line with the plan.
A Young Poong official said, "We are going beyond the stage of fixing past problems and approaching it in a way that structurally eliminates the possibility of water pollution."