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Mike · Site Admin Joined: 07 Sep 2004 Posts: 4512 Location:

The Asahi Shimbun

Government figures released Friday show that 374 employees of 27 manufacturers have died from asbestos-related diseases.

A further 88 people are being treated for asbestos-linked illnesses, the trade ministry said.

"We never imagined there was such devastating damage out there," said a ministry official. "We should have started investigating earlier."

Through six asbestos-related industry associations, including the Japan Asbestos Association, 89 member companies took part in the survey at the request of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry earlier this month. Of the 89 companies, 27 reported deaths and illnesses.

The industries were singled out as high risk for their use of asbestos to manufacture construction material, water pipes and brakes.

The reported totals include cases of pneumoconiosis-a dust-related lung disease. Its link with asbestos has not been made clear yet, however.

According to the ministry, 114 people died of mesothelioma, a cancer that occurs in the lining of the chest cavity and lungs. The only known cause of this cancer is asbestos.

Lung cancer claimed 106 lives, while 154 died from pneumoconiosis.

Of those patients under treatment, 13 suffer from mesothelioma; 22 from lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases; and 53 from pneumoconiosis.

The largest number of employee deaths-141-was reported by construction material manufacturer Nichias Corp., based in Tokyo. Major machinery maker Kubota Corp., based in Osaka, reported 79 deaths.

A&A Material Corp. in Yokohama reported 27 asbestos deaths; Tatsuta Kogyo Co., in Nara Prefecture, 21 deaths; and Tokyo-based Misawa Resort Co., formerly Nihon Eternit Pipe Co., 24 deaths.

Kubota reported three non-employee deaths. Otherwise, there were no reports of asbestos-linked deaths and health hazards involving residents living near the factories, or employee family members.

Kubota was the only company that independently disclosed such figures on asbestos-linked deaths and illnesses. The company first announced in June that 79 employees who had worked at its plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, had died from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related causes.

After that revelation, other manufacturers using asbestos followed suit. The move to go public is spreading among other industries involved in asbestos, such as shipbuilding, auto manufacturing and construction.

However, the number of those who have died or are suffering from asbestos-related illnesses could be much larger.

Little has been done to document the health conditions of subcontracted workers who were in direct contact with asbestos. There is almost nothing on record, especially for small subcontractors.

"There are many more out there," said a 63-year-old man who started learning the trade in 1967 and was on the payroll of a Nichias subsidiary company. "Day laborers who work as subcontractors don't show up on paper. It's pretty sad."(IHT/Asahi: July 16,2005)
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