An article of the Asahi Shimbun, on 5th June 2008, shows interesting result of a survey concerning injuries caused by asbestos.
Forty percent of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases do not know how they were exposed to the carcinogen, a recent survey by the Environment Ministry showed. In its first nationwide survey on the causes of asbestos-related illnesses, the ministry questioned 2,389 people recognized as asbestos victims in fiscal 2006, and 2,049 people responded. Some 1,126 people, or 55 percent, said it was possible they were exposed to asbestos at their workplaces, while 63, or 3 percent, said they could have inhaled the substance from the clothes of family members who worked at places that used the material. Forty people, or 2 percent, said they may have entered offices and other buildings that used asbestos as a coating material. The remaining 820 people, or 40 percent, said they have no idea how they came in contact with asbestos. The figure includes responses from bereaved family members of people who have died from asbestos-related diseases. The survey also showed that most of the victims worked at manufacturing, construction, wholesale or retail jobs. But there were 61 teachers and former teachers who were unlikely to have inhaled a substantial amount of the substance at their workplaces. Responses to the survey came from more than 500 municipalities in all 47 prefectures.
The article said that widespread health damage among workers at asbestos-using plants and residents living near those factories came to light after Kubota Corp. in 2005 first reported such cases at its former plant in Amagasaki.
But, the harmfulness of asbestos has beeen widely known previously. A variety of litigations were brought to courts since 1960’s in US. The number of complaints was about 500,000 until 2001; 41 companies related to asbestos had been bankrupted. ’Asbestos Litigation‘ says that asbestos litigation is the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history.
Through 2002, approximately 730,000 individuals who had been exposed to asbestos have brought claims against some 8,400 business entities, and almost as many more future claims are likely. Defendants and insurers have spent a total of $70 billion on asbestos litigation through 2002, more than half of which was consumed by claimants’ and defendants’ litigation expenses.
On the other hand, litigations concerning exposure of asbestos is quite few up until now in Japan. Only 16 cases are known so far. 14 cases are of exposure in workplaces; 8 cases are related to ship construction companies and 4 cases are related to asbestos makers.
Through litigations, complaints or consultations, the government could have assumed the seriousness of this injuries in early stage. It was apparent to the government that huge amount of ligitateions were filed to courts in US. Why was this kind of survey by the government delayed in Japan up until recently? It seems very curious and too late.
