Department of Preventive Medicine and Industrial Medical Center, the Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Address for correspondence: Hyoung Ryoul Kim, M.D. Department of Preventive Medicine and Industrial Medical Center, the Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, 62 Yeouido-dong, Yeoungdeungpo-gu, Seoul 150-713, Korea. Tel: +82.2-3779-2267, Fax: +82.2-782-6017, Email: cyclor@catholic.ac.kr
Received May 21, 2009; Accepted May 22, 2009.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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.
Keywords: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Lung Neoplasms, Asbestosis, Korea.
References
1.
Choi JK,Paek DM,Paik NW. The production, the use, the number of workers and exposure level of asbestos in Korea. Korean Ind Hyg Assoc J 1998;8:242–253.
2.
Park D,Choi S,Ryu K,Park J,Paik N. Trends in occupational asbestos exposure and asbestos consumption over recent decades in Korea. Int J Occup Environ Health 2008;14:18–24.
3.
Paek DM,Paik NW,Choi JD,Son MA,Im JG,Lee WJ,Moon YH,Park JS,Choi BS. Prevalence of asbestosis in Korean asbestos industry. Korean J Occup Environ Med 1995;7:46–57.
4.
Jung SH,Kim HR,Koh SB,Yong SJ,Choi BS,Ahn YS,Park TI,Chung MJ,Kim YM,Song JS,Chung YK,Myung JP. Epidemiologic characteristics revealed with a malignant mesothelioma surveillance system in Korea. Korean J Occup Environ Med 2006;18:46–52.
5.
Kang DM,Gu DC,Kim KH. Asbestos-related diseases among asbestos textile factory workers and residents around the factory. J Korean Med Assoc 2009;52:482–488.
6.
Ahn YS,Kim HR. Asbestosis epidemics caused by non-occupational neighborhood exposure. J Korean Med Assoc 2009;52:472–481.
7.
Luo S,Liu X,Mu S,Tsai SP,Wen CP. Asbestos related diseases from environmental exposure to crocidolite in Da-yao, China. I. Review of exposure and epidemiological data. Occup Environ Med 2003;60:35–41.
8.
Metintas S,Metintas M,Ucgun I,Oner U. Malignant mesothelioma due to environmental exposure to asbestos: follow-up of a Turkish cohort living in a rural area. Chest 2002;122:2224–2229.
9.
Pan XL,Day HW,Wang W,Beckett LA,Schenker MB. Residential proximity to naturally occurring asbestos and mesothelioma risk in California. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2005;172:1019–1025.
10.
Constantopoulos SH,Malamou-Mutsi VD,Goudevenos JA,Papathanasiou MP,Pavlidis NA,Papadimitriou CS. High incidence of malignant pleural mesothelioma in neighbouring villages of Northwestern Greece. Respiration 1987;51:266–271.
11.
Levin SM,Kann PE,Lax MB. Medical examination for asbestosrelated disease. Am J Ind Med 2000;37:6–22.
12.
Hillerdal G,Henderson DW. Asbestos, asbestosis, pleural plaques and lung cancer. Scand J Work Environ Health 1997;23:93–103.
13.
Henderson DW,Rödelsperger K,Woitowitz HJ,Leigh J. After Helsinki: a multidisciplinary review of the relationship between asbestos exposure and lung cancer, with emphasis on studies published during 1997-2004. Pathology 2004;36:517–550.
14.
Rom WN. Asbestosis, pleural fibrosis, and lung cancer. In: Rom WNEnvironmental and Occupational Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott William & Wilkins; 2007. pp. 308.
15.
Suzuki Y. Diagnostic criteria for human diffuse malignant mesothelioma. Acta Pathol Jpn 1992;42:767–786.
16.
Robinson BW,Lake RA. Advances in malignant mesothelioma. N Engl J Med 2005;353:1591–1603.
17.
McDonald JC,Armstrong BG,Edwards CW,Gibbs AR,Lloyd HM,Pooley FD,Ross DJ,Rudd RM. Case-referent survey of young adults with mesothelioma: I. Lung fibre analyses. Ann Occup Hyg 2001;45:513–518.
18.
Gardner MJ,Saracci R. Effects on health of non-occupational exposure to airborne mineral fibres. IARC Sci Publ 1989;90:375–397.
19.
Kim HR,Ahn YS,Jung SH. Epidemiologic characteristics of malignant mesothelioma in Korea. J Korean Med Assoc 2009;52:449–455.
20.
Kjaerheim K,Ulvestad B,Martinsen JI,Andersen A. Cancer of the gastrointestinal tract and exposure to asbestos in drinking water among lighthouse keepers (Norway). Cancer Causes Control 2005;16:593–598.
21.
Browne ML,Varadarajulu D,Lewis-Michl EL,Fitzgerald EF. Cancer incidence and asbestos in drinking water, Town of Woodstock, New York, 1980-1998. Environ Res 2005;98:224–232.
22.
Gamble JF,Gibbs GW. An evaluation of the risks of lung cancer and mesothelioma from exposure to amphibole cleavage fragments. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2008;52(1) Suppl:S154–S186.
