Another case of the dismal failure of Korean authorities to respond promptly and appropriately to a potential environmental crisis raises the question: "How much longer do we have to rely on luck to avoid calamities?"

When a fire broke out at a Kolon Industries Chemical plant in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province around 3am on March 1, firefighters battling the blaze did not think to notify the environmental authorities at the plant, though it is obviously a hazardous facility.

And the investigation so far indicates that Kolon failed to inform either the fire department or the environmental authorities of the potential dangers posed by the chemicals used at the site. Phenol, stored in a tank there, leaked unchecked into the Nakdong River, along with the water used to put out the fire.

It was only hours later that Gimcheon City, after hearing from the plant about the chemical leak, erected a dam in a tributary of the Nakdong River. By then, phenol had already gotten into the main river. Had appropriate action been taken immediately after the fire, the leak could have been prevented, or at least minimised. It is estimated that about 11kg of phenol made its way into the river, which supplies drinking water to nearly 10 million people.

The tap water supplies to Gumi and Daegu were suspended for several hours on March 2 and March 3, respectively, after 0.005 mg per litre of phenol was detected in the water. The authorities maintain that the amount does not exceed the acceptable level of phenol in tap water, which is 0.02 mg per litre.

Days after the fire, evidence is being revealed that formalin was leaked in addition to phenol. Both substances are thought to cause cancer. The Daegu Regional Environmental Agency's test of three samples more than 12 hours after the fire showed no traces of phenol or formalin. However, the Korea Water Resources Corp.'s Gumi regional office detected 0.014 parts per million of formalin in one of the five test samples taken a few hours before the environmental agency's analysis.

The discrepancies in the test results hardly inspire confidence in official announcements. Even more troubling are the suspicions that the government may have tried to cover up the finding of formalin. When formalin's presence in the water was reported in the media, the Environment Ministry said there was no threat to pubic safety.

Reports that the city of Gimcheon failed to follow the proper procedure for responding to emergencies are also disturbing. The city official in charge of environmental management rushed to the plant only after learning about it on TV more than two hours after the fire.

For the people of Daegu who still have a vivid memory of the phenol leak in 1991--30 tonnes of phenol spilled into a Nakdong River tributary, contaminating a reservoir that supplied 70 per cent of the city's tap water--the latest incident is a reminder of the ever-present threat to their health by the numerous factories near the Nakdong which use hazardous materials. In addition to creating and enforcing more effective crisis management, it is time to consider moving chemical factories away from the river.

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