Heating Systems Emitting Carcinogens Found in Over 20,000 Elementary, Middle, and High Schools Nationwide

Places Emitting Pollutants Dozens of Times Above Standards
Nitrogen Oxides Emitted by GHP Are Group 1 Carcinogens

Gas heat pumps (GHP), heating and cooling facilities that emit harmful substances, have been found to be widely installed in domestic schools. The nitrogen oxides emitted by GHP are currently classified as Group 1 carcinogens.

On the 19th, Roh Woong-rae, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed through data received from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy that there were 69,785 public and private facilities with GHP installed as of last year.

Gas Heat Pump (GHP) [Image source: Office of Assemblyman No Woong-rae]

Among these, the combined number of educational facilities (public) and elementary, middle, and high schools (private) is 24,715.

GHP is equipment that operates an engine using liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas to supply heating and cooling to buildings. Due to regulations under the "Regulations on the Promotion of Rational Energy Use in Public Institutions" requiring that more than 60% of cooling facilities be non-electric, the distribution of GHP has increased mainly in public institutions.

The problem lies in the fact that GHP emits pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. In particular, nitrogen oxides are classified as Group 1 carcinogens. Because of this, GHP has been included as an air pollutant emission facility starting this year.

In this regard, the office of Assemblyman Roh recently measured the pollutant emissions of GHP installed at the National Assembly Library and found that nitrogen oxide levels reached 425 ppm, more than 28 times the standard limit of 15 ppm.

At a GHP installed on the rooftop of an elementary school, nitrogen oxide emissions were also measured at 322 ppm, exceeding the standard by 22 times.

Assemblyman Roh emphasized, "Measures must be established for GHPs installed in schools to prevent children from being exposed to Group 1 carcinogens without protection," and added, "It is necessary to hold manufacturers accountable."

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