[Editorial] Korea's Poor Handling of Asbestos

Asbestos, used widely in construction materials and other areas, is being seriously neglected. Use has been halted in most areas now that its fatal toxicity is understood. A lot of asbestos dust is still found when old building are torn down, and yet nothing is being done about it. It gets into the air and into the body to cause mesothelioma, and is known as the "quiet time bomb."

Fear of asbestos is sweeping Japan, because Kubota, a company that has long produced construction materials containing asbestos, has announced that 79 of its current and former employees died from asbestos between 1978 and 2004. The Japanese government scrambled to do an inquiry of 89 manufacturers, and it turns out 374 people have died and 88 are being treated for related illnesses. The number of victims must be considerable, if you think of others, not just people who work for manufacturing companies, but construction and automobile workers and regular citizens. One estimate is that 100,000 people will die over the next 40 years, since the damage takes between 20 and 50 years to show up.

Korea has used asbestos no less than Japan, and yet there is not even a study out on harm it has done. It has been so poorly managed that the only official documentation on it comes from the Environment Ministry, which says the stuff has been incinerated and buried when it is not supposed to be burnt or buried. Regulations require authorization from the Labor Minister when structures containing asbestos is torn down, but in actuality has little to do with what happens. It is horrible to think of how much of the dust gets into the lungs of workers and neighborhood residents when buildings are demolished.

There urgently needs to be a study of the situation with asbestos and the damage it is doing. We call on government and business to establish a program for a quick and thorough response.

The Hankyoreh, 11 August 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]