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A research team led by Jung Jin-sang uses a real-time liquefaction system to collect fine dust particles and analyze their chemical composition. (provided by KRISS)

It was scientifically demonstrated for the first time that some of the particulate matter in the air above the Korean Peninsula, often called “fine dust,” originated in China. “We have succeeded at demonstrating scientifically the fact that pollutants from China have entered South Korea and raised the particulate matter density to a severe level,” the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) said on Mar. 20.

In fireworks

After analyzing the chemical composition of fine dust on the Korean Peninsula during the Lunar New Year in 2017 (from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2), a research team led by Jung Jin-sang, head of research at KRISS’s Center for Gas Analysis, announced that the fine dust was caused by the large number of fireworks set off during the Lunar New Year. While satellite imagery had already confirmed that high concentrations of fine dust in South Korea were caused by the influx of fine dust from China, this was the first this had been demonstrated scientifically.

Fine dust, which refers to particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), is typically released during the combustion of fossil fuels or biomass (such as crops and forests). But since the two countries have similar manufacturing and agricultural sectors, it was difficult to determine the source of the fine dust through analyzing its chemical composition.

The research team solved this conundrum by developing a system for real-time measurement of potassium and levoglucosan, which are materials that constitute fine dust. Potassium is emitted during the combustion of both firecrackers and biomass, but levoglucosan is only emitted when biomass is burned.

only potassium is released when they explode. However

“If the concentration of potassium sharply increases and the concentration of levoglucosan does not change, it is possible to conclude that the fine dust was created when firecrackers went off,” the research team said. Over the Lunar New Year last year, potassium levels in the South Korean atmosphere jumped more than sevenfold, while levoglucosan levels remained constant.

In related news, South Korea’s Ministry of Environment announced that as of Mar. 27, it would be bringing its environmental standards for fine dust in line with those in the US and Japan. This will mean stricter standards, lowering the current levels from a daily average concentration of 50㎍/㎥ and a yearly average concentration of 25㎍/㎥ to a daily average of 35㎍/㎥ and a yearly average of 15㎍/㎥. While the new standards are still looser than those recommended by the World Health Organization, they are identical to those used in the US and Japan.

By Lee Keun-young and Kim Jung-su, senior staff writers

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