Few things indicate a country’s level of development better than how it copes with unexpected calamity. The chaotic aftermath of the toxic gas leaks from a chemical plant in Gumi, 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, shows why Korea is still a third-rate country by that standard.
The government designated the affected area as a special disaster zone Monday ― 12 days after an explosion at a hydrofluoric acid plant there killed five workers and injured 18 others, and sent more than 3,500 residents who inhaled the gas to hospitals for treatment. The designation came only after fearful victims began to leave the town en masse.
It was not that local officials did nothing ― they aggravated the situation. They didn’t realize the seriousness of the environmental disaster, regarding it as just another industrial mishap. The state-run National Institute of Environmental Research conducted only a simple atmospheric check and told the evacuees to return to their homes, exposing them to secondary damage.
Environment Minister You Young-sook, who visited the site 10 days after the accident, handed out her business cards with a smile. Little wonder the angry residents asked, “What’s the government for?”
President Lee Myung-bak reportedly fumed at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, asking how these officials could handle a potential calamity like a minor traffic incident. But the President’s job is not to just rebuke responsible officials whenever accidents happen. Lee should hold them, including his environment minister, responsible and tell them to come up with measures to minimize damage and prevent a recurrence. They should first find out the cause of accident and then determine the damage and compensation.
At stake is how to minimize tertiary damage. Hydrofluoric acid is an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system. Considering the material’s half-life is about two years, officials should continue to monitor the after-effects of all residents living downwind of the explosion for the next few years. The toxic acid can also contaminate soil and underground waters as well as the nearby Nakdong River reservoir, a source of tap water for up to 10 million Gyeongsang Province residents.
All this shows the designation should not be the end but the beginning of a long follow-up process.
It should also serve as an occasion to overhaul the nation’s disaster management system, especially concerning at least 6,000 factories that produce, use or store high-risk chemicals, many of which are located perilously close to residential areas.
What’s even more surprising is most residents do not know about the dangers next door to them. So the first thing the government should do is to provide information about their risks and a to-do list in times of emergency. It also ought to enact a far tougher law than now, which strictly stipulates industries’ responsibility for safety and compensation matters.
President Lee puts national dignity above all else. No nation with dignity treats its people’s lives and health so lightly as here.