Oil, Chemical Companies and Steelmakers Facing More Regulations

The Ministry of Environment of South Korea recently formed a task force in order to impose stricter regulations related to particulate matter. Under the circumstances, the concerns of local steelmakers, oil companies and chemical companies are rising. 

The task force is planning to include more regions and more industries in the regulations for limiting the total amount of atmospheric pollutants emitted each year by a business that have been in effect since 2008 in Seoul City, Incheon City and some regions in Gyeonggi Province.

The regulations are expected to be expanded to cover Busan, Ulsan, Yeosu, Gwangyang, etc. These regions are where the companies are currently running multiple industrial complexes. The regulations cover not only dust but also nitrogen and sulfur oxides and so on.

The ministry is planning to collect more money from those emitting nitrogen oxides, too. Specifically, the emission charges are likely to be calculated on an amount basis instead of concentration, which has been advocated by civic organizations.

Those companies, in the meantime, are expressing concerns, claiming that the two different regulations overlap to some extent and the restriction on emissions is likely to affect their manufacturing activities.