Air Pollution Regulations

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Lawmakers are speeding up efforts to pass bills designed to help ease the air pollution problem. Parliamentary committees have approved bills requiring the installment of fine dust monitors at classes of kindergartens and elementary, middle and high schools. These bills will likely be passed at the parliamentary plenary session slated for March 13.

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It is hard to find children who are not wearing protective masks during their commutes between school and home. However, 41 percent of kindergartens and schools across the nation have no air purifiers in their classrooms. A parliamentary committee has passed a bill requiring all kindergartens and schools to install air purifiers and fine dust monitors in classroom facilities. Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties called in unison for other measures to protect students from fine dust until air purifiers are installed.

[Soundbite] Rep. Shin Kyung-min(Democratic Party) : "Data shows that 70 percent of middle and high schools have no air purifiers. All policies take time to go into effect."

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Han-pyo(Liberty Korea Party) : "Only 16 schools shortened classes on March 6 when emergency measures were taken to reduce fine dust. It was all the Ministry of Education did."

A parliamentary committee also passed a bill that defines fine dust as a social disaster, laying the legal foundation for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to use state budgets to tackle air pollution. On Monday, a subcommittee of the parliamentary environment and labor committee approved a bill making it mandatory to install fine dust monitors at public facilities. In line with a bipartisan agreement, seven anti-fine dust bills will likely be passed at the parliamentary plenary session on March 13.