The South Korean government on Tuesday announced new guidelines to cope with worsening air pollution that has emerged as a major health risk in the country after concentration of fine dust particles hit record levels earlier this year.

The Ministry of Environment said on Tuesday that it has established a new standard crisis management manual to tighten control of fine dust in the country.

The new manual is set to deal with ultra fine dust, or particular matter (PM) 2.5. Fine dust, or PM10 with particular matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter, which belongs to yellow dust category, will continue to be controlled under the existing crisis management manual set to tackle large-scale dust.

Under the new guide, the government will issue alert crisis according to four different levels – attention, caution, alert, and serious – when high concentration of ultra fine dust is detected. It also comes with stricter countermeasures.

The new warning system was determined based on the record high concentration of ultra-fine dust that had choked the country for seven consecutive days in March.

Of four different levels, attention warning will be issued when concentration of ultra fine dust exceeds 50 micrograms per cubic meter on the first day and is expected to exceed the amount on the second day or 75 micrograms per cubic meter.

A caution warning will be given when concentration level exceeds 150 micrograms per cubic meter for two hours or more and is forecast to exceed 75 micrograms per cubic meter on the following day. An alert warning will be made if the level exceeds 200 micrograms per cubic meter for two hours or more and is forecast to exceed 150 micrograms per cubic meter on the following day, while serious warning will be issued when levels exceed 400 micrograms per cubic meter for two hours or more and is forecast to exceed 200 micrograms per cubic meter on the next day.

According to the ministry’s guideline, in the advent of caution warning, operations of all vehicles in the public sector, except for mandatory and emergency ones, will be restricted, and fuel usage at public facilities will be cut. Facilities such as childcare centers will also be offered health protection masks, which will be inspected by related institutions.

In the advent of alert and serious warnings, the ministry will launch full-scale disaster response that mobilizes all available means and resources. Under the guideline, an alert warning will prompt the government to advise drivers to voluntarily leave vehicles with odd-number license plates at home on even-numbered dates and vice versa and add more public transportation under extended operating hours.

A serious warning will make it compulsory for drivers to leave their cars at home every other day, order temporary closing of schools and childcare centers, and consider designation of temporary holiday and declaration of emergency state. When serious warning level is issued, a central disaster countermeasures headquarters led by the prime minister or public administration and safety minister will be set up and operated.

Health hazardous fine dust has become an urgent public health concern as well as social and economic issues because it restricts people’s daily move and the country’s economic activity. The Korean government has taken a set of emergency measures to clean the air, but they have so far not produced any significant results in reducing pollutants. Air quality worsens in Korea generally in winter and spring with higher fine dust concentration.

By Kim Tae-joon and Lee Eun-joo

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