Emergency Fine Dust Measures Tomorrow in 5 Areas Including Seoul, Incheon, and Sejong... "Reduced Operation of Coal Power Plants"

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] On the weekend of the 15th, emergency fine dust reduction measures will be implemented in five regions: Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, Chungnam, and Sejong.

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 14th that from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the 15th, a fine particulate matter (PM2.5) crisis alert at the 'Interest' level will be issued for the five metropolitan cities and provinces of Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, Chungnam, and Sejong. Accordingly, these regions will implement emergency fine dust reduction measures during the same time period.

These areas met the issuance criteria as the daily average concentration of fine particulate matter exceeded 50㎍/㎥ or an advisory was issued by 4 p.m. on the day, and it is expected that the daily average will again exceed 50㎍/㎥ on the following day (the 15th).

Emergency reduction measures will be enforced at workplaces and construction sites operated by private, administrative, and public institutions located in the five metropolitan cities and provinces.

At 209 workplaces with high fine dust emissions, such as petrochemical and refining plants, and steel manufacturing industries, measures such as changes in operating hours, adjustments in operating rates, or efficiency improvements will be implemented. Although not mandatory under the Fine Dust Act, emission reduction measures will also be carried out at public facilities such as waste incineration plants and sewage treatment plants.

Construction sites must implement dust suppression measures such as changing or adjusting construction hours, operating water spraying vehicles, and covering with dustproof sheets. Violations of these measures at workplaces and construction sites subject to emergency reduction measures will result in fines of up to 2 million KRW.

Additionally, 22 workplaces located in the metropolitan area, including machinery product manufacturers and district heating corporations that have voluntarily agreed with the Ministry of Environment, will implement their own reduction measures.

At the national level, a total of 12 coal-fired power plants will be shut down, and output restrictions (80% output limit) will be applied to 46 coal-fired power plants. In particular, Chungnam region will carry out reduction operations on coal-fired power plants, including the shutdown of 5 plants and output restrictions on 25 plants.

Meanwhile, each metropolitan city and province plans to conduct their own inspections and crackdowns targeting workplaces and construction sites to suppress fine dust generation, and will expand the operation of street cleaning vehicles.