The Ministry of Environment said on June 13 that it has filed a complaint against Hanwha Total that caused the leak of the oil vapor for two days from May 17 for "failing to report immediately" under the Chemicals Management Act."
Hanwha Total reported the accident to the Seosan Fire Station at 12:35 p.m., 50 minutes later, although the oil vapor leaked from the emergency outlet on the upper part of the FB-326 tank at the SM plant in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province At 11:45 a.m. on May 17.
The next day, it did not even report the leak of the oil vapor from the top of the tank at 3:40 a.m. on May 18.
"We were trying to secure data on the health of residents required to punish those who did not report the chemical accident immediately, and we filed a complaint after several medical certificates issued by the Seosan Medical Center were secured," an official from the Ministry of Environment said.
Meanwhile, environmental authorities have begun an investigation into the health effects of residents who received medical treatment for the leakage of the oil vapor from Hanwha Total's plant.
National Institute of Chemical Safety held a meeting on the start of an investigation into the spill of oil vapor from Hanwha Total's Daesan plant on May 14 and started to investigate the accident.
Last month, company workers and residents of nearby villages received hospital treatment after complaining of symptoms such as dizziness, vomiting and eye pain due to Hanwha Total's Daesan plant.
According to the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 97.5 tons of harmful chemicals such as ethyl benzene and anti-polymerizing agents were found to have been leaked in the accident, with residents and workers receiving 2,330 cases of medical treatment.
