Inconsistent policy on thermal plants worsens air pollution
This is the second in a three-part series about fine dust that is increasingly becoming a serious threat to Korea's environment. ― ED
By Kim Se-jeong
With fine dust problems ever deepening, thermal power plants are getting the blame as major sources of air pollution.
Related government bodies, however, are divided on this controversy, with one agency seeking to control the plants while another is planning to build more.
Earlier this month, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) released an evaluation of the Ministry of Environment’s air pollution policy for Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area.
The evaluation reported that thermoelectric power plants on the west coast are a significant source of fine and ultrafine dust, but the ministry has come up with no countermeasures to reduce the dust.
“It is nonsense that the ministry did not include the power plant issue in its air quality control policy,” the BAI said.
The report stated that fossil fuels used at the plants contribute as much as 28 percent of the total particulate matter (PM) 2.5 in Seoul and the metropolitan area, and 21 percent of PM 10.
“PM 10 and PM 2.5 from the power plants in South Chungcheong Province have a dangerous impact on air quality in the Seoul region,” the report said.
PM 10 refers to particles with diameters of 10 micrometers or less, and PM 2.5, diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less. PM 2.5 can cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The organization also recommends the yearly average level for PM 2.5 should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Last year, the average for Korea was 26.5 micrograms per cubic meter, more than double the recommended limit.
Despite the problems with the power plants, one of the Park Geun-hye administration’s energy policies is to build more thermal power plants.
Korea has 53 thermal power plants across the country with the capacity of generating 26 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, with 47 percent of that coming from the plants in South Chungcheong Province.
The government plans to build an additional 20 plants by 2023. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy believes the thermoelectric plants, which account for almost one-third of Korea’s energy generation, are the most affordable source of power for Korea. It says the nation critically needs additional power plants to keep up with surging demand.
However, environmental groups oppose the government move, saying more plants will cause more fine dust and further jeopardize people’s health.
“Residents near those power plants in Chungcheong already suffer a lot from chemical substances,” said Lee Jin-eon from the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements.
Lee said the nation’s demand for electricity is decreasing and thus no more new power plants are needed.
According to Greenpeace’s Korean branch, the 20 new plants will contribute to more than 1,000 premature deaths per year.
The government is looking into technologies that can help power plants reduce fine dust emission, but it has a long way to go.
“Current filtration systems cannot filter PM 2.5,” said an official from the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute. “Those particles are way too small. We need to wait for better technologies.”