Changes in the Air Quality of Port Areas Following the Implementation of the IMO 2020 Sulfur Limit
From January 1, 2020, the International Maritime Organization has implemented a global regulation, known as IMO 2020, to reduce the sulfur content in fuel oil of ships from 3.5% to 0.5%. In this study, we used data from air monitoring stations to evaluate the change in air quality at New Port and North Port in Korea areas after the regulation was implemented. The concentration of SO2 and NO2 was higher in the port areas than in the surrounding areas due to exhaust gas from ships and vehicles. However, the SO2 concentration decreased by more than 50% in the port area, demonstrating the efficiency and positive effect of the IMO 2020 sulfur limit.