EcoPro Materials, located in the Pohang Yeongilman Industrial Complex, has been subjected to administrative action by Gyeongsangbuk-do Province for exceeding ecological toxicity standards with their high-concentration saline wastewater. As a result, EcoPro Materials plans to establish wastewater treatment facilities by August next year. The company, a subsidiary of EcoPro, manufactures high-nickel precursors for cathode materials used in secondary batteries and has its headquarters and facilities in Pohang.
In response to EcoPro’s plans to construct factories in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, civic groups in Pohang are opposing the discharge of wastewater into Yeongil Bay. Residents, especially from the Cheongnim-dong area, have formed an emergency committee to oppose this, arguing that releasing high-concentration saline wastewater from the manufacturing process of secondary battery materials poses a serious threat to the ecosystem, impacting both the local beaches in the short term and potentially the entire Yeongil Bay in the long term.