Asbestos at Closed Mine Caused Lung Diseases

Hongseong residents’ representative Jeong Ji-yeol points to where the now-closed asbestos mine operated in South Chungcheong Province, Friday. The “cliff” was made by years of industrial explosions. / Yonhap

By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

The government confirmed Friday that nearly one in two residents living in Hongseong and Boryeong near a closed mine in South Chungcheong Province contracted various lung diseases apparently caused by inhaling asbestos.

Of 215 sampled residents it checked, a total of 110 had lung diseases, the Ministry of Environment said.

Of them, 55 were diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, which can develop into lung cancer. Eighty-seven were suffering from thickened pleura. The residents asked the government to conduct health checkups on all other people living nearby.

``It is highly likely that residents' health was affected as they were exposed to asbestos due to operations at the mine,'' the ministry said in a statement. ``But after the mine was closed, asbestos was rarely found in the air, therefore it's difficult to jump to the conclusion that asbestos-contaminated earth caused diseases.''

Asbestos has affected both miners and non-miners, the government said. Asbestos is known to cause respiratory diseases such as asbestosis and lung cancer and is a government designated grade-one carcinogen.

It is now banned in many countries from use at constructions and some others. Japan has compensated patients with lung cancer caused by asbestos.

The mine in Hongseong used to be the largest in Asia during the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945). The facility was closed in 1983, but residents claim that asbestos from the mine has and is putting their health at great risk. They said elderly relatives, who have already passed away, always complained about chest pains, breathing problems and others, and blamed the mine.

Jeong Ji-yeol, a representative of the residents, was quoted by a local daily as saying, ``I, too, suffer from various disease possibly caused by asbestos. I cannot get away with cold for more than six months; and suffer from a soar throat and others. The doctors told me that I could eventually get pulmonary emphysema.''

South Chungcheong provincial government is conducting research on 3,700 residents, and the results are expected to trigger mass compensation lawsuits.

On the other hand, the ministry said the same research on residents near a factory using asbestos in the port city Busan showed no significant relevance between the substance and disease ― one person was diagnosed with asbestosis.

Still, it has managed to detect small amount of asbestos from soil within 2 kilometers of the mine and factory, and said it will come up with ``comprehensive management guidelines'' and a compensation plan for victims.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr

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