ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ACT

CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Act is to protect and maintain national health and ecosystem integrity by investigating, diagnosing and monitoring the effects of environmental pollution, toxic chemicals, etc. on national health and the ecosystem and any damage thereto, thereby preventing threats to national health and establishing measures to reduce these threats.

Article 2(Definitions) #

The terms used in this Act are defined as follows: <Amended on Jan. 18, 2010; May 19, 2011; Feb. 1, 2012; Jun. 4, 2013; Mar. 19, 2024; Oct. 1, 2025>

1. "Environmental health" means practice of investigating, assessing, preventing and controlling effects of environmental pollution under subparagraph 4 of Article 3 of the Framework Act on Environmental Policy, toxic chemicals, etc. under subparagraph 7 of Article 2 of the Chemicals Control Act (hereinafter referred to as "environmentally hazardous factors") on human health and the ecosystem;

2. "Environmental diseases" means diseases found by epidemiological investigations, etc. to be interrelated with environmentally hazardous factors and determined by Decree of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment following deliberations by the Environmental Health Council under Article 9;

3. "Risk assessment" means activities of systematically reviewing and assessing the exposure to environmentally hazardous factors and toxicity information of environmentally hazardous factors to forecast effects of environmentally hazardous factors on human health and the ecosystem;

4. "Epidemiological investigation" means activities of diagnosing the cause of harm to health by finding out severity of harm, including diseases and death, caused to health and verifying the interrelation between environmentally hazardous factors and diseases in cases where harm has occurred or is likely to occur to health due to environmentally hazardous factors in a specific population group or a specific area;

5. "Environmental media" means the air, water, soil, etc. which transmits environmentally hazardous factors to a receptor;

6. "Receptor" means the ecosystem, including human, animals and plants which are affected by environmentally hazardous factors transmitted through environmental media;

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ACT

Article 1(Purpose) #

Article 2(Definitions) #

Article 3(Scope of application) #

Article 4(Basic ideology) #

Article 5(Responsibilities of the State) #

Article 6(Formulation of environmental health master plans) #

Article 6-2(Establishment of regional environmental health plan) #

Article 7(Implementation of master plan) #

Article 8(Cooperation in formulating plans) #

Article 9(Environmental Health Council) #

Article 10(Composition and operation of Council) #

Article 10-2(Regional environmental health council) #

Article 11(Risk assessment and management of environmentally hazardous factors) #

Article 12(Restrictions on application of new technologies or use of new substances) #

Article 13(Addition and assessment of health impact items) #

Article 14(Basic investigations of national environmental health) #

Article 14-2(Survey on actual situation of activity space for sensitive class) #

Article 15(Health impact survey of environmental-related health damage) #

Article 16 #

Article 17 #

Article 17-2(Measures based on results of investigation) #

Article 18(Protection of personal information) #

Article 19(Obligations to compensate for environmental diseases) #

Article 20(Support from the State) #

Article 20-2(Implementation of environmental health support projects) #

Article 20-3(Issuance of environmental health vouchers) #

Article 20-4(Designation of dedicated institutions) #

Article 20-5(Revocation of designation of dedicated institutions) #

Article 20-6(Imposition of penalty surcharges) #

Article 21(Development of environmental health indices) #

Article 22(Control of information and statistics on environmental health) #

Article 23(Risk control for children's activity zones) #

Article 23-2(Designation of inspection agencies) #

Article 23-3(Education) #

Article 23-4(Certification of environmental safety of children’s activity spaces) #

Article 24(Control of hazardous substances for use by children) #

Article 24-2(Obligation to report by relevant business entities) #

Article 24-3(Formulation of self-management plans) #

Article 25(Provision of information on risk to children) #

Article 25-2(Support for medical treatment for children) #

Article 26(Designation and operation of environmental health centers) #

Article 26-2(Appraisal of Environmental Health Centers) #

Article 27(Revocation of designation as Environmental Health Centers) #

Article 27-2(Establishment and operation of center for prevention and management of environmental diseases) #

Article 28(Fostering and support of environmental health specialists) #

Article 28-2(Establishment and operation of comprehensive information system for environmental health) #

Article 29(Reporting and inspections) #

Article 29-2(Fees) #

Article 29-3(Hearings) #

Article 30(Delegation and entrustment of authority) #

Article 31(Penalty provisions) #

Article 31-2(Reduction of or exemption from punishment) #

Article 32(Joint penalty provisions) #

Article 33(Administrative fines) #