Declaration of War on Fine Dust written by 10305 Kim Seo Young

In April 2019, several companies operating in the Yeosu complex had been exposed for corruption when it came to air quality. They had conspired with air pollutant measurement agencies and manipulated the measurement amount in April 2019. However, the punishment they received was minimal.

Many pointed out that this is hardly any punishment for these companies. The authorities announced that the punishment was a six-month suspension of business for pre-announcement of two million won in fines to the emitters and agencies that fabricated the measurements.

 

In response, Representative Shin Chang-hyun proposed a partial revision of the atmospheric environment conservation law on May 14^th, which strengthens the current law's punishment clause, which amounts to a fine of ten million won or less. There is also a one-year sentence in jail. This bill was drawn up to prevent a possible moral hazard by companies, including a minor fine of two million won for manipulating emissions of fine dust-causing materials.

In order to preserve the atmosphere, the atmospheric conservation laws have been strengthened. Air emission acceptance standards have been periodically strengthened every five years considering the status of environmental pollution and the level of technology to prevent it.

This revision was also amended by considering the level of emissions, current prevention technology, and development level of the emission business through a survey. The aim is to reduce emissions by 30 percent by 2022. The emphasis was placed on strengthening the management of high-risk specific atmospheric agents.

 First, the revision expanded the scope of the management of the air-discharge facilities. It is facility that exposes substances such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride produced by production to the atmosphere without any refining process. Traditional charcoal kilns become subject to government surveillance. In addition, animal cremation facilities are increasing so it also included as a new air-discharge facility.

Second, the standard for allowing ordinary air pollutants and fine dust generation and discharge of causative materials is stricter than the current standard. Ten types of emission acceptance criteria, including dust, will be increased by 30% on average from the current level.

 294 of the 346 classification facilities covered by the emission standards will be strengthened. If the facility is included as an air discharge facility, the licensee shall install a prevention facility to reduce air pollutants and conduct self-measurement to periodically check the emission status of pollutants. If the facility fails to operate normally, a violation is detected (such as mixing air with air pollutants released from the facility), or does not reduce the level of contamination, the facility can even be ordered to close.

 The current law requires companies to pay excess emission taxes as an economic regulatory means if they release more than the permissible level of air pollutants. However, the excess air-pollution tax is much lower than the cost of installing pollution-prevention facilities to keep emission acceptance standards, which has been criticized by the Environment Ministry for providing indulgence to companies.

 The revision introduced a punitive tax system that allows a it to be levied up to 10 times more than the excess pollution discharged, as it is considered deliberate from the time the emission it is imposed at the same facility more than three times.

 In addition, the Environment Ministry revised the atmospheric environment conservation law to designate and supervise measurement agencies designated by businesses in order to prevent them from conspiring with measurement agencies and manipulating measurement results.

 "Because of the moral hazards of companies, the fine dust pollution has been aggravated," Rep. Shin said. "At this opportunity, the nation's environmental laws should be cleared of the stigma of being an indulgence of environmental pollution."

 Many environmental experts also hope the policy will be a powerful means of protecting the environment. This much-anticipated policy requires improved people's awareness and cooperation from countless companies to work.