Health Risk Assessment and Management of Asbestos Exposure to the Public in Japan

Abstract

Asbestos disasters are one of the major environmental issues associated with the industrial use of natural resources globally. There are enormous numbers of reports on occupational exposure to asbestos; however, comparing with these, reports on its non-occupational exposure are few. Herein, we report asbestos disasters in Japan and discuss health risk assessment and management of asbestos exposure to the public, using two instances that we experienced. One is an asbestos leakage incident at a subway station in Nagoya city. It is an example of asbestos exposure to the public caused by the removal of existing asbestos-containing materials after the ban on asbestos use in Japan. The other is the exposure derived from serpentinite. Serpentinite is a rock that is available in many places in Japan, often contains asbestos, and is used as a construction material and an industrial raw material. It is an example of health risks to the public derived from naturally occurring asbestos. Inhabitants in the vicinity of serpentinite outcrops are the subjects of exposure. There were many difficulties in risk assessment and management in both cases. Enhanced efforts to reduce asbestos exposure to the public through collaboration among various stakeholders are required.