The application of various ozone air quality indicators to Seoul, Korea

The air quality of Seoul, the capital city of Korea, has been steadily growing worse for the past few decades. With a population of over 11 million and cars numbering more than 2.1 million the photochemical smog problem in this megacity of Seoul is starting to reach disturbing levels. In order to comply with the public's increasing demands for cleaner air the government started the ozone alarm system in July of 1995 and is planning to initiate an ozone forecasting system in 1997. But what is the best indicator of ozone concentration that is most harmful to the public and urban ecosystem of Seoul? Other countries are also struggling with this question and air quality indicators such as annual l-hr maximum concentration, annual 8-hr maximum, number of times exceeding 120 ppb, and others including cumulative exposure indices are being studied as possible candidates for regulatory standards. Therefore, in this study, we look at the various air quality indicators of ozone concentration, their values relative to other big cities and the relationship among the indicators themselves for Seoul. The potential impact of these air quality indicators on regulatory problems are also investigated.