Kaohsiung air pollution and the Oil Refinery shutdown

I read that the Kaohsiung oil refinery (高雄煉油廠) is due to close by the end of this year, 2015.

Does anyone know if there is any research into what impact this will have, if any, on the air quality within Kaohsiung?

I would love to move to this southern city, with its warm and sunny weather, but the air pollution is something that is giving me serious reservations…

:cactus:

Aside from the planned oil refinery closure, are there other plans in the works (by the Kaohsiung City Government) to improve air quality?

Source:http://www.icis.com/resources/news/2014/06/16/9791519/taiwan-s-cpc-corp-to-close-kaohsiung-refinery-complex-by-end-15/

This plan has been in the works for
some time, it should have a significant impact,
there are still other refineries and power plants in Kaosihiung area though.

[quote]This plan has been in the works for
some time, it should have a significant impact[/quote]

Thanks, that’s helpful.

I wonder what real term reduction we can hope to expect. A few percentage points reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 levels perhaps?

Given that the air quality index (AQI) often runs above 150 for Kaohsiung (compared with ~ 100 for neighbouring Tainan) in the winter, the pollution is a serious risk for individuals that have heart or breathing problems.

I’m guessing that a significant proportion of the airborne pollution comes from scooters and other vehicles.

I wonder if there are any studies that attempt to quantify the relative contributions from each pollution source in the greater Kaohsiung area? (I’m guessing, probably not, but maybe someone out there knows something about this.)

Thanks for your response.