Gyeonggi Province Conducts Special Guidance and Inspection of 17 Environmental Pollution Measurement Agencies in Second Half

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province, the Gyeonggi Province Institute of Health and Environment, and major cities in the province with populations exceeding 500,000—including Suwon, Yongin, Seongnam, and Ansan—will jointly conduct special guidance and inspection of environmental pollution measurement agencies through the 30th.

Environmental pollution measurement agencies are businesses that provide measurement services for environmental pollutants such as fine dust and harmful gases generated during the operation of facility exhaust systems at business sites. Facilities that emit environmental pollutants must regularly measure pollution levels at least once per week to once per half-year depending on their size and use the data to manage the operation of pollution prevention facilities within their businesses.

The inspection covers a total of 17 agencies: 9 companies where legal violations such as omission of contract details, equipment malfunctions, and failure to complete mandatory training were detected in the first-half provincial inspection, and 8 agencies operating in major cities. The province explained that the purpose of conducting additional inspections in the second half is to strengthen follow-up management and oversight and to eliminate poor measurement practices and illegal activities by measurement agencies.

Key inspection items include ▲compliance with measurement agency registration standards ▲appropriateness of technical personnel and equipment operation ▲lawful management of business results ▲falsification of measurement records.

The province will take strong follow-up measures, including registration cancellation and referral for prosecution, against agencies where illegal activities are detected during inspections.

Additionally, the province is conducting regular guidance and inspection through December on 472 environmental service businesses in the province, including 293 environmental engineering construction companies that design and construct environmental pollution prevention facilities, 115 management agencies that handle environmental management tasks for facilities emitting pollutants, and 64 environmental consulting companies that provide consultation on environmental permits and licensing.

Inspections will focus on compliance with registration standards under regulations for each environmental service business, illegal leasing of registration certificates and lawful management of business results, and appropriate retention of technical personnel and equipment. Violations will be followed up with administrative actions and referrals for prosecution in accordance with applicable laws.

Kim Dong-sung, Chief of the Environmental Safety Management Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, “We will strengthen management and oversight to ensure that environmental service businesses in the province, including measurement agencies, adhere strictly to regulations, and we will work to prevent illegal activities and establish fair market order in the environmental industry.”