Development of a Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) emission inventory in Korea

Choi, M.-Y., Kim, J., Hu, H., Lee, J., Lee, A., Lee, J., Kim, Y. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5053-5068, & Woo, J.-H. (2026). Development of a Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) emission inventory in Korea. Atmospheric Environment 366 e121692. 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121692.

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Abstract

In this study, an emission inventory of 16 PAHs, including 7 carcinogenic PAHs, was developed using the latest data for Korea. The study incorporated emission sources that had been omitted in previous studies. PAHs emissions were estimated by region (at city, county, and district levels) and sector to enable a more precise identification of the emission status in Korea. The total annual emission of 16 PAHs in Korea in 2017 was 1259.7 Mg, with 7 PAHs contributing 41.77 Mg. The major sector of the emissions of the 16 PAHs was industrial process (33.5 %). For the 7 PAHs, other area source was the major emission sector (38.8 %), mainly due to wildfires. In terms of regional aspects, regions with high Industrial Process activities such as ULSAN, JEONNAM, CHUNGNAM, along with GYEONGGI, a major hub for Korean Energy Transport and Storage, showed the highest emissions. The developed emission inventory was intercompared with other inventories, ensuring the appropriate application of emission factors for each emission sector. Especially, it was found that the Korean PAH emissions reported in EDGARv6.0 were 1.9–5.1 times different from those estimated in this study, depending on the pollutant. It was discovered that the emission factors in the residential sector in EDGARv6.0 may differ from the actual emission characteristics in Korea. The PAHs emission inventory developed in this study is anticipated to be used for the establishment and regulation of PAHs policies in Korea. Furthermore, the research results are expected to be essential reference material for refining the emission inventory of PAHs for Korea, which is used in atmospheric transport modeling.

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