Nakdonggang Basin Environmental Office Intensively Monitors Illegal 'Ozone' Emissions with Advanced Equipment

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] The Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office announced on the 18th that it will conduct special inspections on emission businesses in the Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex, where large-scale ozone (O3) occurrences are frequent during the summer season when ozone concentrations rise, until August.

The Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex is a large-scale petrochemical industry hub that accounts for about 10% or more of the nation's chemical substance emissions, and it is an area with high ozone concentrations and frequent complaints about odors during the summer season.

In particular, this special inspection will apply non-face-to-face and digital monitoring methods such as drones and mobile measurement vehicles for the first time, following the "social distancing" due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The focus will be on checking compliance with the strengthened facility management standards for fugitive emission facilities effective from January 1 of this year.

The main inspection items include verifying whether invisible gaseous substances emitted from flare stacks and external floating roof storage tank facilities are observed and managed using Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras, and whether leak management of heat exchangers in cooling towers is properly implemented.

Additionally, advanced equipment such as drones and mobile measurement vehicles will be combined to periodically investigate air quality concentrations in specific areas of the Ulsan Industrial Complex and the concentration distribution and changes of pollutants emitted from businesses within those areas.

If businesses suspected of large-scale or illegal emissions of air pollutants are found through the investigation, on-site inspections will be conducted, and confirmed violations will be strictly punished. If necessary, technical support for preventing recurrence will also be provided.

Screening using advanced equipment is expected not only to enable scientific and efficient monitoring of major emission businesses and supplement the shortage of inspection personnel but also to implement a meticulous management system.

Lee Ho-jung, head of the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office, emphasized, "In this difficult situation caused by COVID-19, we will do our best to protect public health without neglect by conducting proactive preventive activities targeting companies that emit large amounts of ozone using various advanced equipment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.