Blocking Fine Dust and Infectious Diseases!... Dongjak-gu Installs Smart Air Showers in Daycare Centers

Investment of 200 million KRW for 16 Public Daycare Centers by This Month... Removal of Fine Dust on Clothes and Body through Air Injection Using IoT Sensors, 24-Hour Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

Smart Air Shower installed at Moms Heart Cafe in Sadang 3-dong

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Changwoo Lee) will install smart air showers utilizing the Internet of Things at 16 district-run daycare centers within the area by the end of this month.

The smart air shower is installed in a gate form at facility entrances, using IoT sensors to blow off fine dust and monitor indoor air quality 24 hours a day, providing reports.

Due to the community spread of COVID-19, 210 daycare centers have been closed from the 25th of last month until the 22nd of this month. The district will fully operate the smart air showers in line with the normal operation period of daycare centers to safely protect infants and toddlers from infectious diseases and fine dust.

Since January, a smart air shower has been piloted at Moms Heart Cafe in Sadang 3-dong, and this year, the district will invest 200 million KRW from its budget to expand installations.

First, the district selected a total of 16 district-run daycare centers with a capacity of 80 or more, considering the possibility of fine dust generation depending on the area, scale, and presence of nearby construction sites or roads.

The installation targets are ▲ Noryangjin-dong area, Seonjae Daycare Center ▲ Sangdo 1-dong and Heukseok-dong areas, Sangdo Daycare Center, Keunbyeol Daycare Center, etc., 6 locations ▲ Sangdo 2-4 dong area, Noble Daycare Center, etc., 2 locations ▲ Sadang-dong area, Chamsarang Daycare Center, etc., 4 locations ▲ Daebang-dong and Sindaebang-dong areas, Kkumnamu Daycare Center, etc., 3 locations.

Additionally, since last year, the district has been supporting air purifier maintenance costs at 202 daycare centers and 135 senior centers within the area to improve indoor air quality for vulnerable groups exposed to fine dust.

Kim Kyungok, Director of Childcare and Women’s Affairs, said, “Through this project, we will do our best to create a childcare environment where infants, toddlers, and parents can feel safe from infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and fine dust.”

Following the designation of Heukseok-dong area as a fine dust concentration management zone in January, the district is strengthening management of fine dust emission sources and promoting emission and exposure reduction projects.

The district plans to establish ventilation systems and fine dust simple measurement network monitoring systems at 21 vulnerable facilities within the zone, including 11 daycare centers and 10 senior centers.