Development plan of health impact assessments in Korea

Abstract

As the importance of health rises in the public consciousness, environmental health impact assessments (HIA) are gaining renewed attention. This implies that the existing medium-centered environmental assessments (EA) should shift toward recipient-centered EAs. Currently, sanitation and public health are health components of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Korea, which contain occupational and residential health, analysis of and mitigation measures against disease-causing factors (such as communicable diseases), and placement and management plans for public health facilities. In short, HIAs are managed under the sanitation and public health criteria of the EIA. This research is a comprehensive analysis of the most recent literature and online information regarding Korea’s EIA system, and has been undertaken in an effort to explore and suggest improvement measures for the nation’s HIA. An HIA’s definition, role, and international trends were reviewed, and building on those findings, a thorough examination explored means to effectively integrate the sanitation and public health component recommended by current regulations into the HIA (such as the EIA reporting guidelines).