Faulty dust filters impel North Korea's Bukchang Aluminum Factory to release toxins straight into the air

The environment around North Korea's only aluminium smelting and alloying industry, the Bukchang Aluminum Factory, is fast degrading. Toxins are being discharged straight into the air since the factory's dust scrubbers are allegedly no longer operating as the facilities degrade.

On Wednesday, December 5, a daily NK source stated that the dust from the Bukchang Aluminum Factory lead to the recent surge in respiratory sickness and dermatitis in the nearby regions. People are unable to open their windows because the ashy dust enters their houses, and dust collects inside no matter how often they clean.

Apart from the surrounding region, the dust from the Bukchang Aluminum Facility also moved to the urbanised areas with multiple offices, shops, schools, and houses, affecting local inhabitants' everyday life.The Bukchang Aluminum Factory, which opened in 1983, manufactures not just metal rice cookers, pots, containers, and other industrial items, but also specialised aluminium for missiles and centrifuges used in nuclear weapons research.

Ordinary North Koreans consider Bukchang Aluminum Factory to be a modest industrial facility, although it is actually a "Class 1" military-industrial complex.

The issue is that the production facilities are dilapidated, having been in use for over four decades. Not only that, but for the past many years, the scrubbers that remove pollutants created during the aluminium smelting and alloying process have been broken. According to the source, the plant's gas and dust filtration equipment has degraded to the point that it is almost worthless.

Aluminium is absorbed relatively slowly by the body, with over 95% of it excreted through the kidneys or bile. As a result, it is a relatively safe metal. The dust or poisons released during the smelting and manufacturing process, on the other hand, are said to induce respiratory discomfort and a deterioration of lung function.

Furthermore, research reveals that when the body accumulates more aluminium elements, nerve cells are damaged, leading to an increase in Alzheimer's disease rates. Aluminium manufacturing was classified as a "Group 1" carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization in 2012.

The North Korean government claims that the smoke from the Bukchang Aluminum Factory is safe, but no one believes them. Locals are allegedly concerned about their health since they believe poisons are present in the dust. According to the source, the Bukchang area has a high percentage of birth abnormalities, and the average lifetime near the plant is only in the mid-50s, significantly lower than in other areas.