Eco-friendly Boilers

[Anchor Lead]

The Ministry of Environment and the Seoul City government are pushing for mandating use of eco-friendly boilers in all residential buildings in a bid to curb air pollution, which has reached a disastrous level in Korea.

[Pkg]

A residential area in downtown Seoul… In the city of Seoul, 39 percent of fine dust emissions come from home heating and power generation. That's even higher than emissions caused by vehicles and fugitive dust from sources like construction. About half of the emissions are produced by boilers for household use. Old boilers are especially problematic. Their emissions are eight times as highly concentrated as those of environmentally friendly boilers developed recently. In Seoul alone, 1.3 million households are using outdated boilers. That's four out of every ten households. The Ministry of Environment and the Seoul City government plan to enact a law mandating the installation of eco-friendly boilers when replacing old ones. The goal is to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions to one-fourth of current levels. The new law also includes new regulations regarding air pollutants emitted by boilers. They also outlaw the sale of boilers whose emissions exceed the permissible level. The new regulations will take effect in the Seoul metropolitan area as early as 2020.

[Soundbite] Shin Yong-seung(Seoul City Government) : "We expect eco-friendly boilers to contribute to reducing air pollution and improving people's health."

The government is also considering expanding subsidies to low-income families, as eco-friendly boilers cost around 300,000 won more than regular models.