Choi Hyeran, Myong Jun-Pyo
Department of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Ann Occup Environ Med. 2018 Oct 5;30:60. doi: 10.1186/s40557-018-0273-5. eCollection 2018.
Compared to 10 years ago, the ambient particulate matter 10 (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels in South Korea have decreased. However, compared to many other OECD countries, these levels are still too high. Concentration of air pollutants such as PM is especially higher during winter than during summer. The first step to rationally solving the air pollution problem in Korea is to identify the key air pollution sources during each season. This ecological study was performed to assess the association between the number of days the accepted PM and CO thresholds were exceeded and the concentration of potential emission sources in winter season 2015.
An emission inventory of the PM and CO emissions in the 232 administrative South Korean districts in January, 2015, and February, 2015 and December, 2015, and the population density, number of car registrations, number of car accidents, industrial power usage, and presence of a fossil-fuel power plant in each district was established on the basis of official web-page data from the government. For all emission source variables except power plants, the administrative districts were grouped into quartiles. Districts were also divided according to whether a power plant was present or not. Negative binomial regression was performed to assess the associations between the PM and CO air pollution (defined as ≥100 g/m and ≥ 9 ppm, respectively) and the concentration of each emission source.
Compared to the districts with the lowest population density, the districts with the third highest population density associated most strongly with air pollution. This was also observed for industrial power usage. Car accident number and car registration numbers showed a linear relationship with air pollution. Districts with power plants were significantly more likely to have air pollution than districts that lacked a plant.
Greater car numbers, industrial activity, and population density, and the presence of fossil-fuel plants associated with air pollution in the 2015 winter in South Korea. These data highlight the contaminant sources that could be targeted by interventions that aim to reduce air pollution, decrease the incidence of exposure, and limit the impact of pollution on human health.
与10年前相比，韩国的环境细颗粒物（PM）和一氧化碳（CO）水平有所下降。然而，与许多其他经合组织国家相比，这些水平仍然过高。像PM这样的空气污染物浓度在冬季尤其高于夏季。合理解决韩国空气污染问题的第一步是确定每个季节的关键空气污染源。本生态研究旨在评估2015年冬季超过可接受的PM和CO阈值的天数与潜在排放源浓度之间的关联。
根据政府官方网页数据，建立了2015年1月、2月和12月韩国232个行政区的PM和CO排放清单，以及各行政区的人口密度、汽车注册数量、汽车事故数量、工业用电量和是否存在化石燃料发电厂。除发电厂外，所有排放源变量的行政区被分为四分位数。行政区也根据是否存在发电厂进行划分。进行负二项回归以评估PM和CO空气污染（分别定义为≥100μg/m³和≥9ppm）与每个排放源浓度之间的关联。
与人口密度最低的行政区相比，人口密度第三高的行政区与空气污染的关联最为强烈。工业用电量也观察到这种情况。汽车事故数量和汽车注册数量与空气污染呈线性关系。有发电厂的行政区比没有发电厂的行政区空气污染的可能性显著更高。
2015年冬季，韩国汽车数量增加、工业活动和人口密度增大以及化石燃料发电厂的存在与空气污染相关。这些数据突出了那些旨在减少空气污染、降低暴露发生率并限制污染对人类健康影响的干预措施可以针对的污染物来源。
