Water / Soil / Ground Environment
Environmental Quality Standards for Soil Pollution
In accordance with the Basic Environment Law, environmental quality standards for soil are in place for 29 items to protect human health and conserve the living environment; they are reviewed as needed, based on up-to-date scientific findings.
These environmental quality standards for soil contamination consist of the elution standards (designed to conserve the capacity of soil to protect foods), each of which serves as the basis to detect the presence of contamination and come up with pollution control measures.
Environmental Quality Standards for Soil Pollution
| Substance | Target level of soil quality examined through leaching and content tests |
|---|---|
| cadmium | 0.01 mg/l in sample solution and less than 0.4mg/kg in rice for agricultural land |
| total cyanide | not detectable in sample solution |
| organic phosphorus | not detectable in sample solution |
| lead | 0.01 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| chromium (VI) | 0.05 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| arsenic | 0.01 mg/l or less in sample solution, and less than 15 mg/kg in soil for agricultural land (paddy fields only) |
| total mercury | 0.0005 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| alkyl mercury | not detectable in sample solution |
| PCBs | not detectable in sample solution |
| copper | less than 125 mg/kg in soil for agricultural land (paddy fields only) |
| dichloromethane | 0.02 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| carbon tetrachloride | 0.002 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| chloroethylene | 0.002 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 0.004 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,1-dichloroethylene | 0.1 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| cis-1,2-dichloroethylene | 0.04 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,1,1-trichloroethane | 1 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,1,2-trichloroethane | 0.006 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| trichloroethylene | 0.03 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| tetrachloroethylene | 0.01 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,3-dichloropropene | 0.002 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| thiuram | 0.006 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| simazine | 0.003 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| thiobencarb | 0.02 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| benzene | 0.01 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| selenium | 0.01 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| fluorine | 0.8 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| boron | 1 mg/l or less in sample solution |
| 1,4-dioxane | 0.05 mg/l or less in sample solution |
- The above standards are not applicable to:
- 1) Places where natural toxic substances exist such as near mineral veins, and
- 2) Places designated for storage of toxic materials such as waste disposal sites.