Air quality in Yongin

How bad are the pollution levels in Yongin?

Yongin is a city located in Gyeonggi province in South Korea, being part of the Seoul capital area and considered one of the major cities in this region. As one of the foremost satellite cities of the capital, Yongin has recorded record levels of population growth, beating any other city in the country by a significant margin. Due to developments such as this, whilst it is a sign of an illustrious and growing economy, it also paves the way for poor air quality, as an influx of people looking for employment both in Yongin and Seoul causes massive amounts of traffic to occur, with commuters going back and forth in the city, as well as over to Seoul. This applies to the industrial sector as well, with an increase in homes, condominiums, factories and power stations all popping up to keep up with the growing demand of an increasing population and higher standard of living.

To observe the levels of PM2.5 recorded in Yongin, the periods of late 2020 and early 2021 will be used for reference. In the latter period of December 2020, Yongin displayed some large disparities between its pollution levels, with PM2.5 readings going as high as 40.4 μg/m³ on some days, and as low as 9.4 μg/m³ on others. The days with higher readings of pollution indicate that Yongin is subject to some poorer air quality, to the extent that it could cause adverse health effects to large portions of the population.

This reading of 40.4 μg/m³ put Yongin (on the particular day) in the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ bracket, one that requires a PM2.5 reading of anywhere between 35.5 to 55.4 μg/m³ to be classified as such. Whilst there were more appreciable days showing up, observing the data, it can be seen that following into January 2021 there were further increases in the amount of days that breached the 35.5 μg/m³ mark, thus making Yongin a city with some pollutive issues.

What are the main causes of pollution in Yongin?

As a major satellite city of Seoul, as well as one of the fastest growing countries on record in South Korea, there would be a large amount of pollution generated by anthropogenic (human related) activities, such as the aforementioned mass movement of people on their daily commutes to work. This goes on to the next point of vehicular emissions, which besides public transport, is one of the main ways people will be navigating their way around and out of the city. Vehicles put out massive amounts of pollution, with chemicals such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) permeating the air, with nitrogen dioxide being a particularly notorious offender in areas that see high volumes of traffic, having numerous ill health effects on those who are exposed, some of which will be covered in short.

Other causes of pollution include that of factory emissions as well as power plant areas, both of which often utilizing fossil fuels such as diesel or coal to provide their power, with some factories also putting out novel chemicals depending on what item or good they are producing (for example, industrial chemical plants will often leak a variety of hazardous fumes into the air, along with any factories involved in the creation, use or recycling of plastic also putting out burnt plastic fumes, as well as toxic metals and other dangerous respirable compounds and particulate matter).

What are some of the main pollutants found in the air in Yongin?

As touched on previously, both nitrogen and sulfur dioxide are released into the atmosphere from vehicle usage, with nitrogen dioxide being both a primary and secondary pollutant. What this means is that it can be formed directly from a singular source, such as a vehicle engine or from the burning of coal (making it a primary pollutant), or it can form in the atmosphere afterwards as a combination of chemicals, making it a secondary pollutant as well.

Other pollutants released from factory sites or power plant areas would be ones such as black carbon and volatile organic compounds (VOC's). Black carbon is a major component in soot, and can often be found coating areas of roadside that see high volumes of traffic, being produced via the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels as well as organic matter such as wood or other plant materials.

Some examples of VOC's would include ones such as benzene, formaldehyde, toluene, xylene and methylene chloride, all of which have highly adverse effects on human health, and due to their volatile nature, are able to maintain a gaseous state at very low temperatures, hence easier to respire. Other pollutants would include ones released from combustion (in vehicles, factories, burning of wood or charcoal during winter) would include polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as dioxins, furans and the previously mentioned toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury.

What can Yongin do to improve its air quality?

As Yongin, as well as the whole of South Korea makes its further progress to an even more highly developed nation, eventually it can start to leave behind many of its pollutive habits that it kept with it as a leftover remnant from its industrial era. Of note is that many of these have already been initiated by societies and groups that monitor air pollution, but have not been implemented to their fullest extent yet due to a number of reasons.

They would include the eventual phasing out of diesel fuels in both cars and heavy machinery, as well as the cessation of coal and other fossil fuel use for the production of energy, turning towards sustainable and clean energy sources.

The placing of emission caps on industrial zones and private businesses can also be used to great measure, to hold certain corporations or individuals accountable to their pollutive output and impose fines when they are excessive.

What are some health issues associated with breathing polluted air in Yongin?

With readings that go up as high as to break into the ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ bracket, there would naturally be both short and long term effects of high pollution levels in Yongin. Some short term issues would include irritation to the skin, as well as mucous membranes, with the eyes, ears, nose and mouth all susceptible to aggravation or breakouts.

More serious long term effects would include large increases in cancer rates, particularly of the lungs or throat, as well as a whole host of respiratory ailments such as pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema and aggravated asthma attacks.