The government plans to expand biannual checks on the management of asbestos, which can cause lung cancer, from the current 260,000 buildings to about 2 million, possibly starting next March, to cover almost all private-sector facilities nationwide, official sources said.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will examine with local officials the 2 million buildings to lessen public anxiety over health hazards caused by asbestos, the sources said.
The facilities will include retail shops and hotels but exclude wooden facilities, single-family homes and schools, which fall under the responsibility of other ministries, they said.
At present, the infrastructure ministry's checks target only large facilities, including factories that have a floor space of more than 1,000 sq. meters and were built between 1956 and 1989. During that period, asbestos was widely used as a building material.
The ministry has been checking whether those facilities leave asbestos uncovered and exposed to the air.
The material is known to cause a range of health problems, notably a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma.
Among the 2 million facilities, the ministry will prioritize examinations of buildings that were constructed before 1975, the year when regulations on use of asbestos were tightened. Facilities where a large number of people have access will also take priority, they said.
The infrastructure ministry broadened the targets of the survey following a recommendation issued in December by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
Last December, that ministry revealed the results of its own sample survey on the management of asbestos at small private businesses. It found seven out of 42 buildings, or 16.7 percent, left asbestos exposed to the air.
The government has launched asbestos investigations since September 2005, when illnesses induced by the material became a mounting social problem.
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