14 people were killed and 60 injured in a fire at Anjeon Industrial Co. in Daejeon. The city said the company had been cited twice during last year’s inspections of pollutant-emitting facilities.
According to the city on March 23, a routine inspection in June last year identified one violation at the company’s air-emission facility and one at its wastewater-emission facility. The city imposed a fine of 600,000 KRW (about $450) and issued a warning for each violation.
Under the Clean Air Conservation Act, Anjeon Industrial was required to conduct self-monitoring every six months but failed to keep its sample-collection records and filter papers on site.
Officials also found the company did not report a change to its contracted wastewater-treatment facility, despite being designated a contracted treatment site under the Water Environment Conservation Act.
As a result, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment downgraded Anjeon Industrial from an “excellent” to a “general” management classification under its “Integrated Guidance and Inspection Regulations for Pollutant Emission Facilities.”
A city official said these violations were uncovered during routine inspections and are not directly related to the fire.
