Result for Nationwide POPs Pollution Level Announced

The Ministry of Environment conducted a nationwide persistent organic pollutants (POPs) monitoring since 2008 and investigated Korea’s air pollution level for 12 chemicals, listed in the Stockholm Convention.

The result showed that air pollution level for Dioxin and PCBs was low, recording 0.028pg I-TEQ/S m³ and 0.001pg WHO-TEQ/S m³ respectively. And pesticides including DDT, aldrin, and mirex were not found in water but found a little in the air.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic pollutants remained in environment or human body for a long time causing damage.

-        12 POPs are

Average concentration of dioxin and PCBs did not significantly change annually but their concentration in the air decreased considerably. In particular, concentration of dioxin in the air per each monitoring post ranged from 0.0000 to 0.262 (annually average was 0.028), which was remarkably less than 0.6, the environment standard in the domestic POPs Control Act.

In 2008, annual concentration of dioxin in the air was 6.6 percent of that in 1999 and in the case of PCBs it recorded 5.5 percent of that in 2002.

Concentration of dioxin and PCBs in the air changed little by season and it was similar or lower than that of other nations.

The Ministry said it would continuously expand the monitoring system every year so as to manage POPs in a more efficient way. Also, chemicals which have been constantly rising will be monitored in detail and the cause will be investigated.

Ji-yun Lee, Byung-hun Kim (+82-2-2110-7963) / Chemicals Management Division, Ministry of Environment