Subway Stations Never Cleaned up Ventilators for 10 Years

It is reported that a number of subway stations have not cleaned up their ventilators for last 10 years, causing air pollution.

According to a report submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Subway Corporation to Rep. Shin Gye-ryun of the parliamentary Environment and Labor Committee, 9 stations of the Line 1 have never cleaned up ventilators for the past 9 years since December, 1993, when they replaced ventilators.

Yangchun Gu Office Station and Dorimchun Station in the Line 2 and seven stations in the Line 3 have never cleaned up ventilators for the last 10 years since they were established in 1992.

Ventilators in stations in the Line 4 have never been cleaned up for 42 months on average.

Subway stations under the control of the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, which were open recently, have never replaced or cleaned up ventilators on the pretext that the usage period is relatively short and the stations are equipped well with advanced ventilating system.

Rep. Shin found that subway stations in the Lines 1 to 4 have extraordinarily dir air when he conducted a test to measure the level of air pollution in subway stations. He said such high level of air pollution was due to stations` mismanagement of ventilators.

Ventilators are air passage connecting underground and aboveground. If dust and contaminants are accumulated in ventilators, it leads to accumulation of heavy metals such as lead, copper, cadmium and chrome, bacteria and other disease-causing germs in ventilators.

Thus, if ventilators are not been cleaned up for a long time, these contaminants flow in rather than flowing out, causing a number of diseases including respiratory disorder.

According to a study by the Construction and Transportation Ministry and the Korea Institute of Construction Technology, dust flown in from ventilators takes up 54% of the total dust of subway stations.

An earlier study by the Environment Ministry before the World Cup games found that air pollution in major stations in the Lines 1 and 2 exceeded the environment standard level.

Meanwhile an official of the Seoul city government said that the city is working hard to lay out regulations to improve the quality of underground air. He added that only a few stations upgrade their equipment per year since cleaning up ventilators costs 40 million won per station and is not legally binding.

Young-A Soh sya@donga.com