환경부-NASA 공동연구 "미세먼지 52%, 국내 원인"
When spring time approaches in Korea...it's hard to fully enjoy the nice weather.
This is,... because of the high density of fine dust in the air, keeping more Koreans indoors to protect themselves from the bad air quality.
The latest study gives a little bit of an insight to its cause,... and our Park Hee-jun tells us more.
People in Korea have long complained that China is to blame for the high concentration of fine dust in the country,... but according to a joint study by the Korean government and NASA... half of it comes from Korea.
The National Institute of Environmental Research of Korea and NASA on Wednesday announced the results of their research that was conducted between May and June last year.
Fifty-two percent of the fine dust in Korea was found to be emitted by local coal-fired power plants, factories and automobiles.
Two major facilities were identified as the major sources of air pollution.
One is the coal-fired power plant in Taean, Chungcheongnam-do Province and the other is the Daesan Petrochemical Complex located in Seosan, in the same province.
"The nitrate levels are relatively higher in Chungcheongnam-do Province,... where metropolitan areas and power plants are concentrated."
Another large contributor of fine dust is China.
The results show China is responsible for as much as 34 percent of the seasonal amount of fine dust.
And some Koreans have filed lawsuits against the Chinese government for the physical and mental damage caused by the dust.
"The other thing that benefits this time period is that we wanted to emphasize the local influences on pollution."
Because Korea's air quality is largely affected by seasonal factors and year-to-year meteorological differences, experts say further observation is needed.
Last month the Korean government unveiled a list of measures to improve the country's air quality.
The government aims to reduce the average fine dust concentration from 23 to 18 micrograms per cubic meter of air by 2026.
Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.
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