south korea steps up fight against pollution, says problem is 'social disaster' - high quality air purifier

SEOUL (Reuters)-
On Wednesday, South Korea stepped up its firepower to fight pollution, passed a series of bills that set the issue as a "social disaster" and could release emergency funds to address the issue.
Fourth pollution in Asia
Factors including coal have driven growth in the largest economy
Sparked widespread public attention and put pressure on President Moon Jae-in
Support rate.
The designation of this issue as a "disaster" allows the government to use part of its reserve funds to help deal with any damage or emergency caused by air pollution.
The country's reserve fund is as high as 3 trillion won (£2 billion)this year.
Other bills passed include authorizing each school classroom to have an air purifier and removing restrictions on the sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
Cars usually emit less than gasoline and diesel.
The latest bill follows previous steps to deal with pollution, such as restricting the operation of coal
Thermal power plant.
South Korea's air quality is the worst among its peers.
Business development (OECD)
According to the group, as of 2017.
Average annual contact with fine particles (PM)of less than 2.
5 micron is 25.
1 microgram per cubic meter, slightly higher than twice the OECD average of 12 micrograms. 5.
The World Health Organization recommends that the air quality standard for PM 2 not exceed 10 micrograms. 5 levels.
For six consecutive days, high levels of concentrated pollutants have hung over most parts of South Korea.
According to a weekly poll released by South Korea's Gallup company in March 8, President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dropped by 3 percentage points from a week ago to 46%.
Unless any objection is made, it will take about 15 days for the bill to become law.
China's regional neighbor, China, has also struggled with pollution in an attempt to reverse the damage caused by unrestricted economic growth for more than 30 years. (
This story corrects the printing mistakes in the first paragraph)