Six New Environmental Health Centers Designated to Develop Professionals and Support Policy

Six new environmental health centers have been designated, further strengthening the community-based environmental health safety net. As more hubs are created that cover on-site investigation and research as well as training of professionals, the system for preventing and managing environmentally induced diseases is expected to become more comprehensive.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that, following a designation review, it will designate and operate a total of six environmental health centers as of the 23rd: one regional center, four centers focused on professional workforce development, and one policy support center.

An environmental health center is an institution that investigates and researches the impact of environmental hazardous factors on human health and carries out the prevention and management of health damage. Depending on their function, they are classified into regional, policy support, and professional workforce development types. With this designation, nationwide response capacity will be expanded, adding to the existing 22 centers. The newly designated centers will receive central government funding for the next five years and will carry out core functions such as investigation and research, education, and policy support.

Last September, installation work to put up a signboard for the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment on the exterior wall of the Government Complex Sejong was in full swing. Yonhap News.

The regional environmental health center for the Gwangju Metropolitan City area will be operated by Chonnam National University Hospital. This center will investigate the health impacts of everyday environmental hazardous factors such as environmental pollution and hazardous chemicals, and provide easy-to-understand health information and preventive guidelines based on its research findings. In particular, it plans to strengthen its role as a regional response hub by offering customized counseling and education for vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly.

The environmental health centers focused on professional workforce development have been designated at four institutions: The Catholic University of Korea, Korea University, Seokyeong University, and the University of Seoul. These institutions will run tiered training programs for the general public, local government officials, and university and graduate students, and will work to cultivate environmental health professionals through practice-oriented education based on industry-academia-research collaboration.

The policy support environmental health center will be operated by Seokyeong University, which will serve as a think tank supporting the formulation and advancement of national environmental health policies.

Cho Hyunsoo, Director General of Environmental Health at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, said, "We will build a more finely meshed environmental health safety net tailored to regional characteristics and expand the foundation for training experts with practical capabilities," adding, "We will continue to strengthen the environmental health management system to better protect public health."

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