Asbestos News

With the significant amount of debris in Japan following the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami, health officials with the U.S. Army are currently going through the wreckage and conducting tests for asbestos and other hazardous substances.

According to the newspaper Stars and Stripes, 1st Lieutenant William Wilson, an Army environmental health scientist, recently flew into Ishinomaki in order to test the air quality near where U.S. personnel are currently living and working.

"We’re doing an occupational health site assessment," he told the news source. "We’re testing ... mainly airborne things like asbestos and silica-based compounds. We will also look for radiological things, but that is only a small part."

Asbestos poses serious health risks

It is critical that Army personnel conduct these air quality tests to ensure that asbestos fibers do not become airborne and cannot be inhaled by those in the area. The inhalation of such fibers has been proven to cause a range of serious illnesses including asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in the tissues surrounding many of the body's internal organs.

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 2,500 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year. Often, the symptoms of the disease do not appear until decades after initial exposure to asbestos.

Army personnel urged to use caution while handling debris

Due to the serious health risks that can come as a result of exposure to asbestos or other dangerous substances that could be located in the debris in Japan, Army leaders have been advising soldiers working in the damaged areas to proceed with caution when handling the debris.

"The medics supply face masks if people ask for them," Specialist Brent Meadors told the news provider. "They said: 'There is a lot of stuff on the ground, be careful about opening your mouth.'"

Massive amount of debris

While a Japanese Ministry of Environment spokesman told the news source that authorities had not yet totaled up all of the damage caused by the natural disasters, it is estimated that Iwate prefecture - one of the areas that received the heaviest damage - has an estimated 6 million tons of debris.

Iwate official Hideyuki Sasaki explained to the news source that all contractors are told how to properly handle the potentially hazardous materials and are given the necessary protective equipment prior to beginning the work.