Excessive levels of hazardous materials found at demolition sites.
As of last month, asbestos levels exceeding the World Health Organization’s safety limit were detected in 14 cases at sites where buildings damaged by last year’s Great East Japan Earthquake were being demolished, according to a government study.
Asbestos is a textile-like mineral that if inhaled by humans may lead to serious health problems including lung cancer. As the material is ideal for fireproofing and insulating against noise, a large quantity had been imported since the 1960s, with most used in construction.
In 2006, an ordinance of the Industrial Safety and Health Law was revised to prohibit the use of construction materials that contain more than 0.1 percent of asbestos. The risk of airborne asbestos to people’s health was pointed out after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
Amid such concerns in the wake of last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster, the Environment Ministry is aiming to bolster its authority to inspect demolition sites. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Environment Ministry conducted the study to measure the density of asbestos in the air at 114 demolition sites in Miyagi, Iwate, Fukushima, Tochigi, Ibaraki and other prefectures.
The study found that between 10.6 and 783.5 parts of asbestos per liter of air were detected at 14 sites, much higher than the WHO’s safety limit of 10. The largest level, 783.5, was found in a hotel being demolished in a business district in Aoba Ward, Sendai.
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