각종 중금속과 화학물질을 취급하는 대기업들의 수질오염에 대한 불감증이 심각한 수준으로 드러났다.환경부는 지난해 12월부터 지난달까지 하루 2천t 이상 폐수를 배출하는 318개 업체의 특정수질유해물질 관리실태를 조사한 결과 절반이 넘는 164곳이 허가받지 않 거나 기준치를 초과한 물질을 배출했다고 20일 밝혔다.특정수질유해물질은 적은 양으로도 인체와 수생태계에 중대한 해를 입힐 우려가 있는 25가지 물질로 페놀, 구리, 카드뮴, 클로로포름, 시안, 벤젠 등이 대표적이다.정부는 이들 물질에 대해 배출시설의 입지와 배출량을 제한하는 등 특별관리를 하고 있다. 적발된 업체는 쌍용자동차, 동서식품, 하림, 태광산업, 씨제이제일제당, 롯데칠 성음료, 현대오일뱅크, 한솔제지, 호남석유화학, 한화케미칼, 에스케이하이닉스, 현 대제철, OCI, 기아자동차, 삼성전자, 엘지화학 등 대기업 계열사가 대부분이었다.적발된 업체는 대부분 환경부의 분석결과가 나올 때까지 어떤 특정수질유해물질을 배출하는지도 파

한국어판 Feb. 20, 2013

A YouTube clip taken in South Africa of a tiny, fat desert rain frog with a squeaky voice has been viewed nearly 1.4 million times in less than a week.Posted Feb. 13 by Dean Boshoff, the clip is titled “World‘s Cutest Frog.”“I recorded a short clip of the defensive cry of the desert rain frog found in the sandy dunes along Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape province,” Boshoff wrote.He also encouraged people to “keep on sharing your videos of how your animals react to hearing this frog’s mighty wa

Culture Feb. 20, 2013

Prosecutors said Tuesday they have brought charges against five people, including a former energy ambassador, for allegedly reaping massive profit from a stock manipulation scheme linked to a diamond mining project in Cameroon.The suspects are accused of pocketing about 90 billion won ($83.24 million) by inflating the stock prices of South Korean mine developer CNK International, after exaggerating the volume of diamond reserves in a Cameroon mine developed by the KOSDAQ-listed company through a

Social Affairs Feb. 19, 2013

Somebody hacked Burger King's Twitter account on Monday, posting obscene messages and changing its profile picture to a McDonald's logo.The tweets stopped after a little more than an hour, and Burger King said it had reached out to Twitter to suspend the account. A Twitter spokesman did not immediately respond to a phone message left on Monday.Burger King, which usually tweets several times a week, said it was working to get the account back up. Typical tweets promoted sales on chicken sandwiche

World Business Feb. 19, 2013

Russian scientists said Monday they had discovered over 50 fragments of the meteor that struck the Urals last week, creating a shockwave that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes.The giant piece of space rock streaked spectacularly over the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Friday before exploding with the force of 30 of the nuclear bombs dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.There was initial disappointment when Russian emergency ministry workers who

World News Feb. 18, 2013

The mother of a British backpacker who survived three days in the Australian bush said Saturday she learned on a plane to Brisbane her son was alive. Claire Derry told the Sydney Morning Herald that her son, Sam Derry-Woodhead, 18, told her he drank contact lens fluid to keep going during his ordeal. ''He tried drinking his own urine and ... he wasn't able to cope much with that,'' she said. ''So he drank tiny sips of the contact lens fluid."Derry-Woodhead was in Australia during his "gap year"

World News Feb. 18, 2013

Vivienne Westwood urged Prince William‘s wife Catherine on Sunday to stop buying so many outfits and to be more environmentally responsible in the way she dressed.The eccentric British designer was speaking to reporters before her show at London Fashion Week, where she handed out a “climate revolution charter” which called on people to “buy less, choose well, make it last”.Westwood, a long-time environmental activist, was asked what advice she may have for the Duchess of Cambridge, who has becom

Arts & Design Feb. 18, 2013

Lee Maeng-hee, the eldest brother of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee, appealed a lower court verdict on Friday, court officials said, starting the second round of a legal battle between the estranged brothers over their inheritance.The Seoul Central District Court earlier this month ruled in favor of the chairman in inheritance lawsuits filed by his siblings. The siblings were demanding more than 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in stakes in Samsung Group units. With the ruling, the countr

Social Affairs Feb. 15, 2013