• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.108-121
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• 2008

On January 1, 2005, the Korean Ministry of Environment put into operation a comprehensive program, so called 'Blue Sky 21' project, for the improvement of air quality in greater Seoul metropolitan area. This program was legally based on the 'Special Act on Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement' for Greater Seoul area, which was established in 2003, and should be updated every 10 years. The principal objective of this program is to improve the air quality in Seoul and surrounding area by 2014 to the levels of air quality in Tokyo and Paris, with particular emphases on reducing the concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and $PM_{10}$. Any regulation of the emission of toxic air pollutants in general, and $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ in particular, should be based on human exposure levels and consequential health effects. In this article, the contents and feasibility of the special program were critically evaluated with respect to the reduction of health risks. Important issues for improving not only air quality but public health are discussed, and future requirements for the success of the special program are suggested.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.537-546
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• 2013

In the Seoul Metropolitan Area(SMA) photochemical air pollutants, nitrogenic compound and particulate matters have increased substantially due to mobile sources, power plants and so on. Therefore 'Special Act on Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement' was enacted on 2003 in order to improve air quality in the SMA. According to the Special Act, Central and local government have developed the state implementation plan(SIP) to reduce air pollutant emissions from various local sources. One of the key elements of the SIP development is the air quality modeling since modeling results can be used to establish emissions control strategies as well as to demonstrate attainment of air quality goals for ozone, particulate matter, and so on. Air quality modeling, therefore, can be usefully utilized to investigate the effects of government's efforts according to control strategies or measures. Using the air quality model, we can determine whether the implementation plan should be revised or not. A number of questions, however, has been raised concerning accuracy, consistency and transparency of modeling results because if we do not trust modeling results, all the measures dependent on modeling becomes in vain. So, without dealing with these questions, we can not guarantee the reliability and utilizability of air quality modeling results. In this study, we tried to establish standard methodology for air quality modeling in order to ensure consistency and transparency of modeling results used in the development and evaluation of national air policy. For this purpose, we established air quality modeling guideline to provide or recommend modeling procedures, vertical and horizontal domains, input data of meteorological and air quality modeling and so on.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.269-278
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• 2016

In order to improve air quality in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), the "Special Act on Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement" has been enforced since 2005. The strategy has resulted in some reduction of air pollution, but there has not been much research into the quantitative impact analysis of each separate preventive countermeasure. Therefore, we analyzed nitrogen oxide reduction resulting from implementation of the emission control plan for on-road mobile sources. The MM5-SMOKE-CMAQ model system was employed for air quality prediction. Reduced $NO_x$ emissions for SMA was 16,561 ton, 4.7% of reduction rate, in 2007. One countermeasure, tighter acceptable standards for manufacturing vehicles, dominated other countermeasures for effective $NO_x$ emission control. Large spatial differences in reduced emissions, those for Seoul being twice that of Incheon and Gyeonggi, showed greater $NO_x$ emission reduction impact in the heart of the metropolitan complex. The $NO_2$ concentration decreased by 0.60 ppb (2.0%), 0.18 ppb (1.5%), and 0.22 ppb (1.7%) in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, respectively. Concentration decreases in spring and winter were larger, 1.5~2.0 times, than summer and fall. However, the $NO_2$ reduction impact did not correspond directly to local $NO_x$ emission controls in the city area because of the natural flow and dispersion, both urban and downwind.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2005

On January 1, 2005, the Special Act on Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement, known as the Blue Sky 21 Program, entered into force. This Special Act is aimed at reducing the annual average concentrations of $PM_{10}$ and $NO_2$ to $40{\mu}g/m^3$ and 22ppb, respectively, from their current levels of $76{\mu}g/m^3$ and 36ppb, within the next 10 years. While the main focus of the Act is to reduce $PM_{10}$ and $NO_2$ emissions, the government also anticipates that these reductions would lessen high ozone occurrences and improve visibility. However, reducing local PM emissions would not decrease $PM_{10}$ concentrations as much as expected since other significant sources, such as continental inflow and/or secondary formation from photochemical reactions, exist. This is corroborated by the fact that $PM_{10}$ in the greater Seoul Metropolitan area during the ozone season is mostly in the form of $PM_{2.5}$, which is secondarily formed on a regional scale. Furthermore, many modeling results indicate so-called '$NO_x$ disbenefits,' referring to the fostering of an increase in ozone concentrations from a decrease in $NO_x$ emissions, over an extensive area. In this paper, the current status of air quality in the Seoul Metropolitan area is reviewed, and several other issues, including the effect of long-range transport, photochemical characteristics, and tasks for successful implementation of the Special Act are discussed.

• Journal of the korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2004

우리 수도권은 선진국 주요도시에 비해 미세 먼지는 1.7∼3.5배, 이산화질소는 1.7배 수준에 육박할 정도로 대기오염도가 심각한 수준이나 현행 대기환경보전법은 지자체별 사후농도규제 중심체계로 이루어져 있어 대기 질을 선진국수준으로 개선시킬 수 있는 획기적이고 종합적인 정책수단을 사용할 수 있는 여건이 마련되어 있지 않은 상태이다.(중략)

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.275-288
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• 2009

The Korean government strengthened the environmental polices to manage and enhance Metropolitan Area air quality, and also has enforced "Special Act on Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement (SASMAQI)" issued in Dec. 2004. Recently government expanded the Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) to the outskirts satellite cities of Seoul area through the "Revised Law Draft of SASMAQI". The SMAQMD has been alloted the allowable emission loads to the local governments on the basis of the carrying $PM_{10}$ capacity. However, in order to establish the effective air quality control strategy for $PM_{10}$, it is necessary to understand the corresponding sources which have a potential to directly impact ambient $PM_{10}$ concentration. To deal with the situations, many receptor methodologies have been developed to identify the origins of pollutants and to determine the contributions of sources of interests. The objective of this study was to extensively identify $PM_{10}$ sources and to estimate their contributions at the metropolitan area. $PM_{10}$ samples were simultaneously collected at the 3 semi-industrialized local cities in the Seoul metropolitan area such as Hwasung-si, Paju-si, and Icheon-si sites from April 15 to May 31, 2007. The samples collected on the teflon membrane filter by one $PM_{10}$ cyclone sampler were analyzed for trace metals and soluble ions and samples on the quartz fiber filter by another sampler were analyzed for OC and EC. Source apportionment study was then performed by using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor model. A total of 6 sources were identified and their contributions were estimated in each monitoring site. Contribution results on Hwasung, Paju, and Icheon sites were as follows: 33%, 27%, and 27% from soil source, 26%, 26%, and 21% from secondary aerosol source, 11%, 11%, and 12% from biomass burning, 12%, 6%, and 5% from sea salt, 7%, 15%, and 19% from industrial related source, and finally 11%, 15%, and 16% from mobile and oil complex source, respectively. This study provides information on the major sources affecting air quality in the receptor sites and thus it will help to manage the ambient air quality in the metropolitan area by establishing reasonable control strategies, especially for the anthropogenic emission sources.