Health and Environmental Research Institute's Unqualified Test Rate Exceeds 10%

There have been calls for Gyeonggi Province to actively establish and implement policies to address the "five major issues" — indoor air quality, sewage, drinking water, soil, and wastewater pollution — in order to improve quality of life and create a pleasant living environment.

During the administrative audit of the Health and Environmental Research Institute held on the 21st, Provincial Councilor Kim Jong-seok (Democratic Party, Bucheon District 6) stated, "After analyzing all research and testing conducted this year by the Gyeonggi Province Health and Environmental Research Institute, we have found that the living environment of Gyeonggi residents is deteriorating day by day," and argued that "Gyeonggi Province must take extraordinary measures."

According to materials submitted by the Gyeonggi Province Health and Environmental Research Institute, as of the end of September 2013, the institute conducted a total of 37,064 tests in 11 fields directly linked to threats to residents' living environments: 7 air-related fields (workplace air, odor, indoor air quality, soil, golf courses, waste, and incinerator dioxin) and 4 water-quality-related fields (wastewater, sewage, swimming pools and bathhouses, and drinking water).

As a result, 2,918 test results (6.3%) were found to be unqualified for failing to meet the standards set by current regulations.

Among the 11 fields, those with unqualified rates around 10% were identified as indoor air quality (13.5%), sewage (11.2%), drinking water (10.8%), soil (9.8%), and wastewater (9.0%).

Meanwhile, according to a report titled "Fine Dust Threatening Health: Causes and Countermeasures" presented on the 20th by Kim Dong-young, director of the Environmental Research Division at the Gyeonggi Research Institute, the annual premature deaths from fine dust in the Seoul metropolitan area reach approximately 20,000 people, cases of pulmonary disease reach approximately 800,000 people, and when converted to social costs, this amounts to 12.3 trillion won.

In particular, major air-related testing results closely related to living environment conducted by the Health and Environmental Research Institute from last year to this year show deterioration every year, with the unqualified rate that stood at 3.6% last year clearly increasing to 4.4% this year.