Gyeongnam Office of Education's Pilot Project on Improving School Kitchen Ventilation Facilities Shows Significant Effects

Hood Displacement and Flow Rate Increase, PM, CO, and CO₂ Decrease

On the 25th, the Gyeongnam Office of Education held an interim report meeting for a research project aimed at improving ventilation facilities in school meal kitchens and developing Gyeongnam-style guidelines, confirming the effects of facility improvements.

According to the provincial Office of Education, due to cases of lung cancer among school meal workers and increasing demands for improved kitchen environments, the Ministry of Employment and Labor established guidelines for installing ventilation facilities in school meal kitchens in early January last year; however, there were no actual field applications.

In response, the provincial Office of Education launched a pilot research project last year targeting 30 schools in the province, the first of its kind nationwide.

The interim report meeting was held to share preliminary results of ventilation performance evaluations from 21 schools that had completed ventilation improvements as of April and to consider suitable ventilation facility improvement measures for school sites.

A mid-term report meeting is underway for the research project on improving ventilation facilities in school meal preparation rooms and developing the Gyeongnam-type guidelines by the Gyeongnam Office of Education.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Office of Education]

The report meeting held at the annex Gonggam Hall was attended by meal service and facility managers from the main office and education support offices.

Specific ventilation facility standards such as hood types and filter specifications for effective ventilation efficiency were presented, along with measures to address issues arising from applying the guidelines.

The interim ventilation performance evaluation showed reduced exposure to harmful substances, indicating an improved kitchen environment compared to before.

The exhaust volume and velocity of the hood, the air exhaust device in the kitchen, increased by an average of about three times, while concentrations of fine dust, carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) decreased by approximately two to three times.

Based on the final results of the pilot project, the provincial Office of Education plans to establish appropriate standards and improvement measures tailored to different school situations and develop a Gyeongnam-style ventilation improvement guideline to be distributed by July for easy application in the field.

Yoo Sang-jo, Director of the Education Welfare Division, stated, “We will prepare a plan to improve ventilation facilities in school meal kitchens in the first half of the year and implement it to do our best to protect the health of school meal workers.”

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