[Changes Next Year] Real-Time Monitoring of Ultrafine Dust Levels on Subway Platforms

Strengthening Wildlife Import Controls... Expanding Separation of Transparent PET Bottles
Integrated Environmental Management System Expanded to Semiconductor Manufacturing, etc.
Improving Environmental Impact Assessments... Early Registration Fee Reduction for Chemical Substances

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Starting from April next year, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) will be disclosed in real-time at all 650 underground station platforms nationwide. To prevent zoonotic infectious diseases such as COVID-19, the management of wildlife imports will be strengthened.

The government published "Changes Starting from 2021" on the 28th, outlining policy and project changes effective from next year.

First, from April next year, the concentration of fine particulate matter at all underground subway station platforms nationwide will be measured and disclosed in real-time. This is a measure following the revision of the Indoor Air Quality Control Act. A fine of up to 5 million KRW will be imposed for violating the obligation to install fine dust measuring devices or for failing to disclose the results.

All citizens, including subway passengers, can check the fine particulate matter concentration in underground stations in real-time on the Indoor Air Quality Management Comprehensive Information Network (www.inair.or.kr/info).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Management of the import and entry of wildlife that can transmit zoonotic infectious diseases such as COVID-19, foot-and-mouth disease, and African swine fever will be strengthened.

Bats, minks, and other species have been newly added to the list of wildlife requiring import permits, increasing the number of species from 568 to 9,390. Specialized institutions such as the National Institute of Biological Resources and the National Wildlife Disease Control Center will review species identification and disease transmission potential.

This is a measure following the revision of the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Wildlife Protection Act, applied to import and entry permit applications submitted from the 27th of last month.

Next year, the separate collection system for transparent PET bottles will be expanded to apartment complexes nationwide. This is a measure to foster a high-quality recycled raw material market. The plan is to install four or more types of plastic recycling bins by 2022. However, considering local government circumstances, a settlement period for smooth implementation will be operated until June next year.

For detached houses where placing recycling bins is difficult, a day-based collection system for recyclable items such as waste vinyl and Styrofoam will be introduced.

The integrated environmental management system, which consolidates 10 environmental pollution-related permits into one, will be expanded to six industries starting January 1 next year.

The targeted industries are ▲ alcoholic beverage manufacturing ▲ slaughtering, meat processing and storage ▲ textile product dyeing, finishing, and processing ▲ plastic manufacturing ▲ semiconductor manufacturing ▲ automobile parts manufacturing.

Started in 2017, the integrated environmental management system will be gradually applied to a total of 19 industries with significant environmental impact by next year. It has the advantage of applying customized standards considering industry characteristics and surrounding environment, moving away from uniform standards.

To facilitate recycling of electrical and electronic products, the hazardous substance usage restriction system will be strengthened. Next year, 23 new types of electrical and electronic products, including dehumidifiers and treadmills, will be added to the list of restricted items, expanding the total to 49. This will apply to products manufactured or imported from January 1 next year.

Additionally, four types of phthalate hazardous substances used as plasticizers will be added to the restricted hazardous substances, increasing the total to 10. The addition of phthalate substances will be enforced from July 1 next year.

From the first half of next year, the procedure and method for collecting residents' opinions during environmental impact assessments will be improved. The timing for disclosing the results of residents' opinion collection and whether they are reflected will be clarified from "before project plan confirmation" to "before environmental impact assessment consultation request," enhancing transparency.

Also, when collecting residents' opinions, various promotional media such as the internet, social media, video materials, and banners will be utilized as needed to more effectively inform about the project plan.

Fees for early registration of existing chemical substances by medium-sized and small enterprises will be fully waived.

Medium-sized and small enterprises that early register chemical substances (existing chemical substances manufactured or imported less than 1,000 tons annually) granted a registration deferral period until 2024 or later will be exempt from registration fees if they register by 2022.

For each chemical substance registered, medium-sized enterprises are charged 200,000 KRW, small enterprises 100,000 KRW, and micro enterprises 40,000 KRW in fees, but early registration will exempt these fees.