Baek Yeongman, Director of the Institute of Environmental Health Technology. [Provided by the institute] 사진 확대

Baek Yeongman, Director of the Institute of Environmental Health Technology. [Provided by the institute]

Before real estate transactions and similar deals, it is possible to check in advance whether a site is contaminated. Through the soil environmental assessment system, responsibility for contamination can be clarified beforehand, helping to prevent financial losses and other damage. The Institute of Environmental Health Technology, which carries out soil environmental assessments, has outlined the significance of these assessments and the current state of related work.

Below is a Q&A with Director Baek Yeongman of the institute.

▲ What is a soil environmental assessment, and what is its purpose?

A soil environmental assessment is intended to prevent good-faith parties from becoming victims when buying, selling, leasing, or renting land if soil contamination or buried waste is later discovered due to the site’s past use. It is an assessment system stipulated in the Soil Environment Conservation Act, designed to prevent economic, social, and legal risks. At redevelopment and reconstruction sites, housing site development projects, and mixed-use development sites, excavation work is essential, and this often leads to the discovery of soil contamination and buried waste.

▲ Where are soil environmental assessments used?

Under the Soil Environment Conservation Act, soil environmental assessments are selectively applied to sites and surrounding areas that contain national defense and military facilities, factories, and facilities subject to soil contamination management. However, in the event of lawsuits or disputes over responsibility for contamination, the results of a soil environmental assessment confirming whether contamination meets or exceeds the soil contamination concern standards must be available for them to be accepted as legal evidence.

▲ What work is involved in conducting a soil environmental assessment?

A soil environmental assessment is carried out in the order of a preliminary survey, an overview survey, and a detailed survey. Typically, the preliminary and overview surveys are used to determine whether the soil is currently contaminated, after which the findings are reported to the local government so that administrative procedures such as a detailed soil survey, soil remediation, and remediation verification can be implemented. The preliminary survey involves reviewing documents, conducting site visits, and interviewing stakeholders to assess the likelihood of contamination. If there appears to be a possibility of contamination, an overview survey is conducted to gain a general understanding of the contamination status of the site. Once contamination is confirmed, the case is reported to the local government, which issues an order for a detailed soil survey. This detailed survey is then carried out to calculate the precise extent of contamination, and a remediation plan is established based on the results.

▲ Lastly, how would you describe the work of the institute?

Our institute is a non-profit foundation under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment, established in 2011. We are a specialized institution that conducts testing, analysis, and consulting across various environmental media, including as a soil contamination investigation agency, an in-house air quality and water quality measurement agency, a specialized waste analysis agency, a specialized agency for analysis of persistent organic pollutants, and an air environment management agency. We are the only accredited institution capable of analyzing soil, water quality, waste, dioxins, and more at construction sites. Recently, we have been actively participating in initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality, as well as in social contribution activities and local environmental improvement efforts based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.