Information on Asbestos is Just One Click Away

KOSHA opens “Cyber Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall”

March 30, 2011

Information on Asbestos is now readily available on-line. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, has been widely used for many years.

Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA; President Min-Ki Noh) opened “Cyber Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall” to provide easy-to-understand information about asbestos. The information offered to the general public and workers help them to better understand about asbestos, including the methods of handling it.

“Cyber Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall” is an on-line recreation of an off-line exhibition hall under
the same name, which was established in December 2010 in the headquarters of KOSHA in Bupyeong-
gu, Incheon.

The front page of the KOSHA website provides a link to “Cyber Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall”,
and visitors of the website can see all the features of the exhibition hall, without having to actually visit
the place.

All the facilities and audio/visual materials of the exhibition hall are available in the cyber exhibition hall, and they look as real as they can be. A 360-degree view of the exhibition hall is possible using the
computer mouse, and it adds a sense of realism.

It is possible to find out what asbestos is, the types of asbestos-containing materials, and their effect on human. Also, the on-line users can observe asbestos using microscopes and solve quizzes relating to
asbestos.

In addition, the cyber exhibition hall informs people about the ways to wear PPEs, which are necessary when dismantling or removing asbestos in industrial sites.

The actual “Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall” located in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon is a single-story building with the total floor area of 375.8㎡. Students, citizens, asbestos workers, safety and health managers and virtually all people who are interested in learning about asbestos can apply for a tour at KOSHA
website and the visit is free of charge.

“The opening of on-line and off-line versions of Asbestos Information Exhibition Hall is aimed at
providing correct information about asbestos. Thereby, it will help ease the fear of the unknown,
while satisfying the general public’s needs to know more about asbestos. Also, I hope the exhibition hall will protect the health of workers who engage in asbestos dismantlement or removal works,” said an
official from KOSHA.

- What is asbestos?

Once known as the “Miracle Mineral” asbestos has been widely used in daily lives such as insulation materials for buildings, brake pads for cars, etc.

- Hazards of Asbestos

Asbestos fibers enter a human body through the respiratory system. After 10 to 40 years of latency
period, asbestos causes diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma.

- Regulations on asbestos in Korea

The production, import, use, transfer, or provision of asbestos in all forms are banned since January
2009 due to its hazards.

* Total ban of asbestos in other countries: 1994 in the US, 2006 in Japan

- The number of asbestos-related occupational diseases in Korea

Since 2000 and up until 2010, 116 people received compensations for their work-related diseases
caused by asbestos. There were 59 lung cancer cases, 34 mesothelioma cases, and 23 other diseases including asbestosis. Out of these patients, 79 died.

<The number of asbestos-related occupational disease since 2000/ unit: no. of persons>