Ministry of Environment Conducts Comprehensive Evaluation of Emergency Fine Dust Reduction Measures... Seoul City Ranks 1st

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Seoul City has once again ranked first in the comprehensive evaluation of emergency fine dust reduction measures conducted by the Ministry of Environment.

The Ministry of Environment disclosed on the 22nd the results of a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation performance of emergency fine dust reduction measures by 12 metropolitan cities and provinces, including Seoul, from May last year to April this year.

Emergency reduction measures refer to actions taken to intensively reduce fine dust in a short period by restricting the operation of grade 5 emission vehicles, shortening or adjusting operating hours of major workplaces, etc., when high concentrations of fine dust are expected, according to the "Special Act on the Reduction and Management of Fine Dust."

The top three in this comprehensive evaluation were Seoul, Jeonbuk, and Chungnam, respectively. Seoul City also ranked first in the evaluation of the implementation performance of emergency reduction measures conducted from February to April last year.

Seoul received high marks for promoting grassroots fine dust countermeasures, such as joint inspections of major fine dust emission sources including vehicles, workplaces, and construction sites by Seoul city officials together with civic group activists.

In the case of Jeonbuk, to reduce biogenic combustion such as illegal burning of agricultural residues, a source of fine dust emissions, it signed business agreements with 18 related organizations including basic local governments and the Western Regional Forest Service, and also conducted self-evaluations of the overall implementation of emergency reduction measures by basic local governments.

Chungnam developed a data collection and reporting system using the internet by responsible officials to quickly grasp the implementation status of emergency reduction measures by basic local governments and large workplaces and took follow-up actions.

The Ministry of Environment stated, "On the second year of implementing emergency reduction measures, the comprehensive evaluation confirmed that systems such as expanding organizations and personnel in each city and province, revising response manuals and ordinances are being rapidly established."

However, in some cities and provinces, more active interest from heads of local governments was found to be necessary. In Busan, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Jeju, there were no records of emergency situation inspection meetings chaired by heads or deputy heads of local governments on the days emergency reduction measures were issued, nor any on-site inspections by officials at the director level or higher.

The Ministry of Environment plans to notify the cities and provinces of the results of the comprehensive evaluation of emergency reduction measures and present awards such as the Minister of Environment Award to outstanding cities and provinces. In addition, to prepare for the high concentration fine dust period in winter, a nationwide emergency reduction measure issuance simulation drill will be conducted in November, and the preparedness of related ministries and local governments will be checked.

Choi Jong-won, Director of Air Environment Policy at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Although fine dust levels have been relatively good recently, high concentrations of fine dust can occur at any time depending on weather conditions," and added, "We will do our best to prepare with local governments for the occurrence of high concentration fine dust in winter."