The Nakdong River, which runs from the middle of South Korea down into the Sea of Japan, must be offered more protection through government regulations, it has been claimed.
According to the JoongAng Daily, the country must introduce tougher rules on the dumping of toxic chemicals in the waterway.
It highlights that the Nakdong is a source of drinking water for many people and that there are currently no long-term measures in place to prevent it from being polluted.
The publication also points out that in 2006, a crisis ensued when traces of perchlorate were found in the river, with levels of the chemical 1,4-dioxane above World Health Organisation recommendations having also been detected in the past.
South Korea's government should therefore consider introducing regulations on the capping of chemical levels in the integral river and follow the examples of countries such as Japan and The US, the news provider suggests.
In similar news, the US' Environmental Protection Agency recently recommended that water containing more than 0.4 parts per billion of perfluorooctanoic acid should not be consumed by humans.
