Overview of asbestos issues in Korea

Our plain-English summary of Overview of asbestos issues in Korea, by H.R. Kim (Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2009).

The study

• Author: H.R. Kim
• Journal: Journal of Korean Medical Science
• Published: 2009;24(3):363-7
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 31 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Asbestos is a carcinogen that causes diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer in humans. There was a sharp increase in the use of asbestos in Korea in the 1970s as Korea's economy developed rapidly, and asbestos was only recently banned from use. Despite the ban of its use, previously applied asbestos still causes many problems. A series of asbestos-related events that recently occurred in Korea have caused the general public to become concerned about asbestos. Therefore, it is necessary to take proper action to deal with asbestos-related events, such as mass outbreaks of mesothelioma among residents who lived near asbestos textile factories or asbestos mines. Although there have been no rapid increases in asbestos-related illnesses in Korea to date, such illnesses are expected to increase greatly due to the amount of asbestos used and long latency period. Decreasing the asbestos exposure level to levels as low as possible is the most important step in preventing asbestos-related illnesses in the next few decades. However, there is a lack of specialized facilities for the analysis of asbestos and experts to diagnose and treat asbestos-related illnesses in Korea; therefore, national-level concern and support are required.

In plain English

This article was a review. It summarized the health effects of asbestos (asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma), the history of asbestos use and regulation in Korea, and recent asbestos-related events there, drawing mostly on earlier studies. Korea banned crocidolite and amosite in 1997 and all asbestos in 2009. Citing national statistics, the review reported that the mesothelioma death rate among Korean males rose from 0.65 per million in 1996 to 1.57 per million in 2006. A pathologist-based surveillance system recorded only 18 cases before 1995, but 42 in 2004 and 55 in 2007. The review described earlier reports of 14 malignant mesothelioma cases among residents who lived close to one of the three asbestos factories in Busan, and of over 50 of about 200 residents of 4 towns near an asbestos mine in south Chung-Cheong province diagnosed with asbestosis. It also described asbestos found in talc baby powder products. The author expected mesothelioma to keep increasing until 2020-2030. The author concluded that research infrastructure, compensation for asbestos victims and plans to minimize exposure were the most urgent needs.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Narrative review of asbestos health effects, asbestos use and regulation in Korea, Korean mesothelioma data sources, and recent asbestos-related events in Korea
• Who was studied: Korea. Asbestos-related disease occurrence drawn from Korea National Statistical Office death statistics, cancer registry data (1988-2002) and mesothelioma surveillance data (cases from 2001 to 2007 in Table 2). Also residents near asbestos factories in Busan and near asbestos mines in south Chung-Cheong province, as described in earlier reports.
• Exposure: Asbestos used in Korea, mainly in construction materials such as slate roof tiles. Crocidolite and amosite were banned in 1997 and all forms in 2009. Also covered: environmental exposure near asbestos textile factories (reported to have used crocidolite in early years) and mines, and asbestos-contaminated talc.
• Main results:
  • According to national death statistics, the mesothelioma death rate among Korean males increased from 0.65 per million in 1996 to 1.57 per million in 2006.
  • Mesothelioma surveillance data: only 18 cases were reported before 1995, compared with 42 in 2004, 37 in 2005, 53 in 2006 and 55 in 2007.
  • Citing an earlier report, the review stated that 14 cases of malignant mesothelioma were reported among residents who lived close to one of the three asbestos factories in Busan. The incidence rate in that area was 7-11 times higher than in the general population.
  • Citing an earlier study of residents of 4 towns in south Chung-Cheong province near an asbestos mine, over 50 of about 200 residents were diagnosed with asbestosis. Most had not worked at the mine.
  • In April 2009, the Korea Food and Drug Administration found 11 talc powder products for babies contaminated with asbestos. Overall, 1,122 drugs and medical goods were confirmed to contain talc contaminated with asbestos.
  • Mesothelioma occurrence in Korea was expected to keep increasing until 2020-2030. This expectation was based on asbestos imports peaking in 1995 and mesothelioma peaking 25-35 years after exposure.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the most urgent problems were building infrastructure for asbestos-related studies, drawing up a plan to compensate asbestos victims, and laying out an environmental management plan to minimize asbestos exposure.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • In death statistics, mesothelioma patients may not die of mesothelioma itself, and the recorded cause of death may not be mesothelioma even when it was the actual cause.
  • Cancer registry data were available only from 1988 to 2002.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Asbestosis, Lung cancer, Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Latency, Asbestos Exposure.

Related studies

• Overview of occupational cancer in painters in Korea — J.P. Myong, Y. Cho, et al. (2018)
• Pulmonary asbestos and non-asbestos fiber concentrations in autopsied inhabitants in Pohang, Korea — H.S. Lim, J.Y. Kim, et al. (2004)
• Asbestos-related occupational cancers compensated under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance in Korea — Y.S. Ahn, S.K. Kang (2009)
• Trends in occupational asbestos exposure and asbestos consumption over recent decades in Korea — D. Park, S. Choi, et al. (2008)
• Asbestos problems yet to explode in Korea — D. Paek (2003)
• Malignant mesothelioma due to non-occupational asbestos exposure from the Italian national surveillance system (ReNaM): epidemiology and public health issues — A. Marinaccio, A. Binazzi, et al. (2015)

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