Abstract
Recently, incinerators have been shifted to underground complexes because of concerns regarding environmental pollution and declining land prices. In Korea, an underground waste incinerator has been built for the first time, with additional construction being expected in the near future. Therefore, a perception survey was conducted to acquire responses from South Korean experts regarding the impact of underground complex incinerators. The Q-methodology was used in the survey to examine various viewpoints. Academicians showed concerns regarding environmental effects of ground incinerators, and environmental and economic effects of underground complex incinerators; conversely, industrialists were concerned about civil complaints and administrative processing, indicating that the academicians were more concerned about scientific issues, whereas the industrialists were more concerned about democratic issues. Furthermore, both groups expressed concerns regarding land value and civil complaints of ground incinerators, safety issues and resultant social distrust of underground incinerators. The findings suggest that, to address the safety issues involving underground incinerator construction, governance by local experts is required for a holistic evaluation of environmental issues and economic feasibility of underground incinerators. To establish a link between science and democracy, measures for transparently sharing information are necessary.
Highlights
Incinerator construction can have significant negative effects, such as environmental pollution and low land values [1,2]
We used Q-methodology to present alternatives by considering the minority and majority perceptions of experts regarding the construction of underground incinerators
The results showed that the management of underground incinerators requires information sharing regarding the environment, safe technologies, and economy while resolving issues such as civil complaints and administrative processing through concise steps [33]
Summary
Incinerator construction can have significant negative effects, such as environmental pollution and low land values [1,2]. Such constructions are still opposed by many local communities. To increase the acceptability of incinerators by local communities, sewage treatment plants [3,4] have been built underground using new technologies. Parks, shops, and convenience facilities have been constructed above the incinerators for residents; measures to increase the incinerator efficiency by linking food waste and sewage treatment have been suggested [5]. The Hanam Union Park in Korea is the world’s first underground sewage and waste treatment facility, which supplies heating and cooling utilities. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport of Korea has proposed the construction of additional underground complex incinerators
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