Asbestos News

The South Korean government has said that it would offer special lifetime healthcare to students who were exposed to asbestos at a number of schools.

It was recently discovered that gymnasiums at eight schools were constructed using asbestos and that this may have resulted in students' exposure to the naturally occurring substance, according to the Hankyoreh.

An official with the Ministry of Environment said that students would receive yearly X-rays and an expert specializing in asbestos diseases would examine them. Exposure to asbestos can cause a number of serious illnesses such as asbestosis, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer.

Such diseases kill 107,000 people each year around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

"Since the asbestos logs are a system for managing people who have been exposed to high concentrations, we opted for a method of searching for asbestos-related ailments early through the existing health checkup system," the official told the news source. "If any asbestos-related ailments are discovered, [the patient] will receive national assistance in accordance with the Asbestos Injury Relief Act."

A number of students have reportedly been boycotting classes at the establishment after the government confirmed the presence of asbestos.