This photo, taken on Feb. 15, 2020, shows a man running in a park in southeastern Seoul, as the city is hit by fine dust air pollution. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A joint research team from South Korea and China has revealed that contaminants from China enter Seoul’s atmosphere after just two days, causing high concentrations of fine dust.
The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and Chinese Academy of Sciences announced Thursday that they had scientifically proven how contaminants from China enter Seoul using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS).
The research team, using the spectrometer, studied the chemical composition of Seoul’s fine dust every three minutes from February 22 to April 2 to analyze the types of contaminants that affect fine dust.
The results showed that organic substances, nitrates, and sulfates that came from China have been affecting the fine dust in Seoul.
The team revealed that lead, a heavy metal substance, also flowed from China to Seoul.
The research team also showed that Seoul’s series of emergency measures for fine dust reduction when a high concentration of fine dust (>100㎍/㎥) swept over Seoul for more than three consecutive days last March proved to be effective.
Since the dust storm in March was caused by contaminants flowing in from long distances, Seoul’s emergency measures fell short of reducing the concentration level of fine dust in absolute terms.
However, they contributed to the reduction of fine dust caused by car emissions, the research team explained.
Dr. Kim Hwa-jin from the KIST research team said that the joint study has proven that contaminants from China caused a high concentration of fine dust in Seoul, which can be used as a basis to come up with joint policy measures between the two countries.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
