[Exclusive] Fear Grows Over Coal Dust on Window Frames and Crops Near Boryeong Power Plant

Power Plant Official to Residents:
"Why Raise the Issue Only Now?"
Insensitive Response Deepens Residents' Pain

Coal ash is dispersing during the coal unloading process at the Korea Midland Power Boryeong Power Plant.

"We see coal dust sticking to the napa cabbages, and although we know it's not good for our health, we have no choice but to wash and eat them," one resident shared.

Residents living in villages near Boryeong Power Plant in Boryeong-si, South Chungcheong Province, say that today, as always, they wash coal dust-blackened crops and put them on their tables.

They insist that, under the justification of operating one of the country’s core industries, their right to life and their right to a healthy environment are being trampled, while Korea Midland Power’s (Boryeong Power Plant) response has remained irresponsible and high-handed.

According to coverage by The Asia Business Daily on July 28, coal dust generated during the unloading of coal from large cargo ships at the Boryeong Power Plant pier has been blown into nearby villages and fields for decades.

Coal ash, presumed to have come from Korea Midland Power's Boryeong Power Plant, is piled up on the cabbages being cultivated in a nearby village.

The reality captured in photos taken by residents was shocking: coal dust was found sitting between napa cabbage leaves, just before harvest.

Coal dust had piled up on residential window frames, so much so that it could be swept up by hand. For decades, residents have been unable to freely open their windows and have been forced to consume agricultural products contaminated with potentially fatal coal dust.

Jo Jong-pil, general secretary of the Boryeong Power Plant Countermeasure Committee, lamented, "Even now, coal dust keeps blowing in. How can our health not decline if we have to keep consuming these crops?"

What makes matters worse, residents say, is the power plant's heavy-handed attitude toward those affected.

In 2022, residents visited the power plant with photos of napa cabbage completely covered in coal dust, demanding fundamental measures to block the coal dust and compensation for damages.

However, the answer they received from a plant official was shockingly inappropriate.

According to Jo Jong-pil, the official said, "How did you eat until now? Why are you only now raising this issue after having kept silent?"—a comment that deeply hurt the residents.

The plant’s entire response was to pay 600,000 won per household on the condition that they not plant napa cabbage for a year.

Residents claim that coal ash flew into a house near the Boryeong Power Plant of Korea Midland Power and piled up on the window frame.

After this token compensation, the problem of coal dust pollution remained completely unresolved, and there have been no additional compensation or measures to address the situation.

Fundamental environmental improvements—such as installing barriers to prevent dust from spreading or adopting eco-friendly unloading facilities—have been pushed aside. Instead, the company scolded residents for "only now raising objections," a stance that betrays even the minimum ethical standards expected of a public corporation.

The residents of nearby villages are calling for the government, local authorities, and Korea Midland Power to conduct a thorough reinvestigation of the coal dust damage.

It is now time for the government to listen to the voices of residents who have been breathing "black dust" for decades and implement immediate environmental improvements and practical compensation for those affected.

An official from Korea Midland Power said, "We are currently carrying out a project to enclose the coal storage yard. Once this 380-billion-won facility is completed in the second half of next year, there will be no further damage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.