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By Kim Tae-jong
A joint investigation team comprised of government and USFK officials said Friday it had detected “anomalies” during its on-site inspection inside a U.S. military camp, which could possibly indicate the burial site of drums of toxic chemicals.
The announcement was an interim report on a ground-pollution investigation into Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province. The team has been conducting tests at a helipad and nearby sites using ground-penetrating radar and by measuring electrical resistivity.
Based on the results, the team started collecting core soil samples from 40 locations in the area, identified as the alleged dumping site of Agent Orange, for a health risk assessment.
“Because metals have low electrical resistance, the anomalous zones of relatively low resistivity could be interpreted as areas where metal objects are buried underground,” the team said in the report. “Specific patterns of radar signals from the objects buried underground could indicate drums of toxic chemicals are buried there.”
The 40 coring spots were selected using three geophysical tests alongside standard areas for soil sampling and comparisons. The results of a comprehensive analysis will be announced at the end of August, the team said.
“The first mission is to confirm if drums of the toxic chemical are buried here, the second to secure safety in inspections and lastly to come up with necessary measures against contamination if confirmed,” said Prof. Ok Gon of Bookyung University who co-chairs the joint team along with Colonel Joseph F. Birchmeier of the U.S. Army.
The investigation began in May after former American soldiers told a U.S. television station that they helped bury hundreds of drums containing toxic chemicals under the heliport inside Camp Carroll.
Following the allegation, the Korean government and USFK formed a joint investigation team of 16 Korean and 10 American specialists.
They have been conducting an inspection inside the camp to check whether any toxic chemicals are buried there, and off-post soil testing and groundwater testing for the helipad area and Area D are currently underway — the results are scheduled to be released later this month.
“The decision to proceed with additional testing will be determined after reviewing the results,” the team said.
Groundwater sampling from monitoring wells and geophysical surveys on Area 41 are also scheduled to begin on July 25 and soil coring of the remaining areas except for the helipad and Area 1 will be conducted after reviewing the results of surveys on areas that detect anomalies.
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr
