The government will provide preemptive health checkups and treatment support to residents in areas with high risk of environmental pollution damage

Ministry of Environment's Key Initiatives in Environmental Health and Chemical Safety Work Plan for 2022

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] Residents living in areas with a high potential risk of environmental pollution damage will be able to receive health checkups and treatment support even before the causal relationship between emission facilities and health damage is clearly established.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Environment announced the "Key Tasks for Environmental Health and Chemical Safety Work Plans" containing these details.

First, to enhance the perceived effectiveness of support for environmental pollution damage, the Ministry of Environment decided to carry out appropriate support projects according to the type of damage in areas with a high possibility of harm, even before the causal relationship is clearly identified.

In cases where the incidence of certain diseases is high or the concentration of environmental pollutants in residential areas is elevated, raising concerns about residents' health damage, support for health checkups and treatment will be provided in connection with regional environmental health centers. Additionally, to prevent secondary damage caused by environmental pollution and improve the quality of life of local residents, projects such as pollution cleanup, eco-friendly regional restoration, and community recovery will be supported.

For citizens who have suffered health damage due to humidifier disinfectants and environmental pollution, more prompt and active relief measures will be taken. The number of health damage investigation agencies related to humidifier disinfectants will be increased (from 10 in 2021 to 13 in 2022) to accelerate relief efforts, and plans to secure stable funding for relief will be prepared. Furthermore, to prevent recurrence of similar incidents to humidifier disinfectants, as the relief system for biocidal product damage introduced last year is now fully implemented, damage relief simulations by product and damage type will be conducted, and detailed guidelines for the entire relief procedure will be completed to ensure system stabilization.

The Ministry of Environment plans to re-evaluate the damage grades of recognized environmental damage victims (350 people), including residents near the former Janghang Smelter and Gimpo Geomuldaeri, applying the revised environmental damage recognition standards enacted in June last year. Accordingly, the Ministry expects more effective relief through retroactive payment of nursing living allowances and other benefits.

The Ministry of Environment will strengthen risk communication regarding resident health impact surveys and continuously monitor the health status of local residents for proactive management of environmentally vulnerable areas.

When conducting health impact surveys based on residents' petitions, residents' participation will be guaranteed from the survey design stage to strengthen risk communication, and expert review and consultation will be actively utilized to ensure transparency and reliability of survey results.

In addition, exposure to harmful substances and residents' health status will be investigated in 26 areas of uncontrolled development where pollutant emission facilities and residential areas are mixed, as well as around five coal-fired power plants. As part of a long-term status survey, the results of the third phase health impact survey of nine national industrial complexes conducted since 2018 will be comprehensively compiled to prepare future survey plans and resident health management measures.

Along with this, starting from April this year, stricter standards for lead and phthalates will be applied to children's activity spaces such as daycare centers and kindergartens, according to the revised "Environmental Health Act Enforcement Decree" amended last July. Compliance with the strengthened standards will be directly diagnosed at 400 locations, and facility improvements will be supported at 100 small-scale facilities.

Efforts to strengthen indoor air quality management will also be promoted. The Ministry of Environment plans to pilot the establishment and operation of a measurement network (15 vehicles) to monitor indoor air quality in public transportation vehicles such as subways and intercity buses. Furthermore, by the end of this year, electronic display boards will be installed in all subway stations nationwide so that subway passengers can easily check the concentration of ultrafine dust inside stations.

To create a pleasant living environment, the Ministry will consult with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to strengthen standards for noise between floors by reflecting the actual annoyance level experienced in daily life, and develop educational courses for apartment management entities to prevent early conflicts related to noise between floors. Additionally, support for asbestos slate house demolition will be increased from 3.34 million KRW to 3.52 million KRW per household.

The Ministry will also enhance the public's right to know by expanding full ingredient disclosure of household chemical products. The number of products with full ingredient disclosure will increase from 1,508 last year to 1,600 this year, and detailed information such as contained substances and usage precautions will be displayed via QR codes on the packaging of all 39 types of household chemical products subject to safety confirmation, including detergents and air fresheners.

Park Yong-gyu, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Now is a time when warm and inclusive environmental health services are needed more than ever to resolve polarization caused by COVID-19. We will continue to implement policies to safely protect citizens from environmental hazards and broadly support vulnerable areas and groups."

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