Inspections Failed to Detect Asbestos in Many Japanese Municipal Buildings

A new round of testing has discovered asbestos in 110 public buildings previously thought to be free of the material after intial tests conducted in 2005.

Asbestos exposure has become an important issue in Japan following a 2005 disclosure that residents near a plant that handled asbestos were beginning to develop asbestos related diseases. The Japanese government responded to public concerns by ordering asbestos tests on all public facilities and later creating a compensation initiative.

After the tests were completed it was revealed that three forms of asbestos (tremolite, actinolite and anthophyllite) thought to have never been used in construction had been discovered and in February 2008, the government ordered a new round of testing.

The testing process is ongoing and this year alone more than 11,000 buildings will be re-tested. One major difference between the first and second round of asbestos testing is that new methods/equipment allow the material to be discovered in concentrations lower than one percent.

24 buildings were discovered to contain in asbestos in concentrations lower than one percent however 53 of the 110 buildings had concentrations higher than one percent and 13 of those reported it in concentrations of five percent or more. 19 of those were found to contain one of the three new forms while 99 contained chrysotile, amosite or crocidolite.

In Tokyo's Nerima and Suginami wards and Kobe's Fukuoka Prefecture, asbestos was found in ceilings and boilers in elementary and high schools at concentrations between nine and 24 percent.

The new round of inspections is ongoing and will take several years to complete. During that time local governments are likely to report additional cases of asbestos in buildings that had previously tested negative.

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