Nakdonggang Regional Environmental Office Protects Public Health from Ozone

Special Inspection of High Volatile Organic Compound Emission Sites

Campaign to Encourage Voluntary Emission Reduction at Workplaces Conducted

The Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office will implement a focused management plan for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are ozone precursor substances, from May to August, the period of high ozone concentration.

This plan was prepared to proactively respond to the worsening ozone problem, such as the continuous increase in ozone concentration and the number of advisories issued in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions.

Ozone has strong oxidative power and can cause chronic respiratory diseases upon exposure. It is mainly generated in the summer afternoons with high temperatures and strong sunlight through photochemical reactions involving volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are mainly produced through photochemical reactions with ultraviolet rays, and repeated exposure to high concentrations of ozone can have negative effects on the respiratory system.

The main contents of this high-concentration ozone focused management plan include ▲ conducting special inspections of VOCs high-emission workplaces to strengthen VOCs emission monitoring ▲ technical support for fugitive emission facilities of volatile organic compounds ▲ public awareness campaigns on ozone risks and action guidelines during high ozone concentration periods.

Special inspections will be conducted on fugitive emission facility reporting workplaces, air pollutant emission workplaces, total air pollutant management workplaces, and paint manufacturing, importing, and sales workplaces during high ozone concentration periods to strengthen monitoring of VOCs emissions.

For each workplace, compliance with fugitive emission facility management standards, proper operation of air emission facilities, adherence to total air pollutant allocation, proper operation and management of automatic stack monitoring devices, and compliance with VOC content standards in paints will be focused on during inspections.

During inspections, advanced equipment will be used to monitor VOC emissions in real time at major industrial complexes in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam. Mobile measurement vehicles and drones will be utilized to inspect workplaces suspected of high VOC emissions, improving the efficiency and accuracy of inspections.

The head of the Air Environment Management Division at the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office stated, “We will actively promote measures to reduce VOC emissions, which cause ozone, to protect public health from ozone,” and “we ask workplaces to also make efforts to voluntarily reduce VOCs by improving the efficiency of prevention facilities or shortening operations during high ozone concentration periods.”

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