Until recent years, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning during the winter months was one of the most serious public health problems in Korea. Its prevalence is still among the highest in the world, mainly due to the unique heating and cooking system with anthracite coal briquettes used in most Korean houses. Prevention-oriented approaches have mostly failed to find effective solutions, since there are so many contributing factors and it is not always easy to relate their various contributions to CO poisoning. In this paper, the environmental significance of CO pollution in Korea and its public health implications have been reviewed, with particular emphasis on important findings from both epidemiological and air monitoring studies. The mortality resulting from CO poisoning has gradually decreased over recent years, owing to a government initiative to substitute dirty fuels with cleaner ones. In Korea, air quality standards are all based on ambient CO levels measured at fixed sites in a city. However, personal or domestic activities, such as cooking with gas or charcoal stoves, and commuting or working with motor vehicles, might be far more important determinants of CO exposure than ambient CO levels measured at outdoor sites. Thus, the national policy of protecting public health by controlling outdoor levels at a few fixed sites appears to be of questionable effectiveness and has a limited ability to estimate actual exposures.

Keywords:
Carbon monoxide, Coal briquette, Indoor air quality, Personal exposure
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© 1999 S. Karger AG, Basel
1999
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