industrial_hazard

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Serious damage of asbestos on the increase

An insulation materials maker Nichias Corporation (formerly Japan Asbesto) on July 5 announced that 141 employees and retirees died of lung cancer and pneumoconiosis caused by asbesto they produced in a 29 years period between 1976 and 2004.

On the same day, A&A Material Corp. also admitted to 23 asbestos-related deaths, and Ube Board Ltd., a subsidiary of Ube Industries Ltd., 6 deaths.

Recently, asbestos-related deaths of or health hazards to workers have surfaced, at the industrial equipment maker Kubota Corp. and at Taiheiyo Cement.

These cases of death bring into question the responsibility of corporations and the administrative authorities for inadequate preventive measures.

The Economy and Industry Ministry on July 1 decided to collect reports from related industries and workers about workers' health conditions. However, the ministry knows nothing about the quantity of asbestos used and how it affected the health of workers and residents living near the plants.

Asbestos is a kind of mineral used as cheap industrial material for insulation from heat, moisture, extreme temperatures, and sound. Eighty percent of construction materials in Japan contains asbestos. - Akahata, July 6, 2005