A basic environmental study to determine the level of pollution in areas surrounding the U.S. military base in Bupyeong, Incheon was launched on Tuesday.

The study, conducted by a team consisting of experts and government and non-governmental organization officials, aims to determine whether areas around Camp Market are polluted. Along with Camp Carroll in Daegu, Camp Market has been pointed to as having been a storage facility for Agent Orange by U.S. Army veterans.

The team collected 721 soil samples from 245 spots within a 100-meter radius of the base’s outer perimeters. Korea Rural Community Corp. will be the main body for analyzing the samples, but other organizations will also be engaged, the team said. 

According to the team, up to 30 percent of the samples will be cross-checked by more than one research organization.

Areas that gave samples with a high likelihood of having been contaminated with defoliants and dioxins will be subjected to further studies.

The team plans to complete the study by June, but said that the timetable may be changed depending on the results of the analysis.

According to the Bupyeong district office, the study will be funded with 300 million won allocated by the Incheon city government, and that civilians were included in the team to increase transparency of the study.

“After the level of contamination has been determined, (the Bupyeong district office) will focus on restoring the soil, and will direct administrative resources to facilitate an investigation inside the base and a Korea-U.S. joint investigation,” a Bupyeong-gu official said.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)