Regulatory Measures against Air Pollutants Emitted from Factories and Business Sites and the Outline of Regulation - Sulfur oxides

Sulfur oxides

(i) Sulfur oxides emission standard

q = K × 10 ^-3 × He²

Here, q is the hourly volume of sulfur oxides emitted (in units of Nm³) and He, effective height of stack, is the sum of actual height of stack and smoke ascent height. The size of K, which varies according to the region, inversely determines the degree of regulation, for the effect of a reduction in K is a much stiffer control standard. The standard for sulfur oxides has hence been labeled the "K-value regulation".
The general emission standard for sulfur oxides (the K value) was strengthened on September 28, 1976, and as a result all of Japan is now controlled under sixteen K ranks ranging from 3.00 to 17.5.

(ii) Regulation on fuel

The regulation on fuel quality under the Article 15 of the Air Pollution Control Law was revised in September 1976. Asahikawa was added to the previous list of 14 areas (Tokyo, Osaka, etc.).
The regulation standards were upgraded to a sulfur content ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 percent.