Commuters walk out of a subway station in Seoul on May 13, 2020, wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Environment and the Korea Environment Corp. (KECO) have started to provide real-time information on the density of ultrafine particulate matter at subway stations across the country through a website and mobile application.
Thanks to a revision of the Indoor Air Quality Management Act in April 2019, it became possible for municipal governments in charge of managing underground subway stations and the public transportation operators to install automatic ultrafine particle measuring devices and to disclose the measurement results.
As such, the ministry has supported the installation of such devices at underground subway stations across the country, while the KECO has established a website and mobile app to provide the measurement results.
The air quality can be checked not only through the website and mobile app, but also through the measuring devices or separate display devices at most underground subway stations.
The ministry plans to subsidize the installation of additional measuring devices at platforms and waiting areas in all underground subway stations.
Station managers should establish their own guidelines and improve the quality of air by strengthening the operation of air purification facilities or employing reduction measures when the density of ultrafine particulate matter reaches a certain level.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
