Article for the Eradication of Pneumoconiosis

For the Eradication of Dust Lung Disease

Our Proposal

October 2005

 

National Organizing Committee for National Caravan “No More Dust Lungs!”

 

 

Introduction

 

Dust lung is the oldest and is still the biggest occupational disease in our country.  Today, 45 years after the enactment of the Law on Dust-Induced Disease in 1960, there are every year around 1000 (ex-)workers newly diagnosed with severe dust lung disease requiring them to stop to work and receive medical treatment.  According to the statistics issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, in 2004 alone, 7,113 workers were found with symptoms of dust lung disease in periodic health examination conducted by employers.  There were also 814 workers diagnosed with most severe dust lung disease (compensated by the workmen’s compensation insurance) in that year.

 

In this context, for 15 years in a row, we have conducted the National Caravan “No More Dust Lungs!” to call for the earliest possible eradication of dust lung and other occupational diseases.  Unfortunately however, amendments in legal provisions and improvements in the actions undertaken by the administration for the dust lung eradication have so far proved to be insufficient, since many new cases of dust lung disease are reported every year.

 

In addition, the damage cause by asbestos, as has been broadly taken up by the media almost every day since last June, has become a serious concern for workers working on shipyard and construction sites nationwide.  A total ban on the use of asbestos and an early relief of asbestos victims are extremely important tasks for us.

 

In the 7th National Caravan in 1996, we made “Three Urgent Recommendations” including: 1) requirement of measurement of fine-particles on tunnel construction sites; 2) compensation by workmen’s compensation insurance of dust lung patients with lung cancer; 3) issuance of the dust lung examination handbook to all workers in early stage of dust lung (category II) as well as workers who have worked on workplaces with fine particles for more than 3 years.  As a result of our campaigning, we have obtained a number of positive results on these three demands. Building on this, in the 2003 Caravan, in addition to the full implementation of the above three demands, we presented a new set of recommendations under the title “Our Proposal for the Eradication of Dust Lung and Asbestos Damage” and petitioned the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, to district labor offices, heads of municipalities and local assemblies to demand an early implementation of these recommendations.  For this year’s Caravan, we have developed a new set of “recommendations”. Taking into account the observations and remarks we had received from different people since 2003, we made some amendments in our 2003 recommendations, amendments that also reflect the outcome of discussions we had within the national organizing committee.  We will focus our campaign on these recommendations.

 

The eradication of dust lung disease and asbestos damage requires an integrated response that should be implemented on every workplace with fine particles nationwide. Such response should ensure the strict control of working environment, working conditions and workers’ health.  The reality of our workplaces is far from meeting these needs.  We must say that this is mainly due to an insufficient application of existing legal provisions and regulations.  It is essential therefore that all existing laws and regulatory systems be radically revised to be more efficient for eliminating dust lung disease.

 

The Supreme Court ruling on the Chikuho Dust Lung Lawsuit issued on April 27 last year recognized for the first time the responsibility of the state for causing dust-induced lung disease.  The Supreme Court in deed decided that, despite the fact that, after the enactment of the Dust Lung Law, although many cases of dust lung had been declared in coal mines over many years, the state had failed to exercise its authority at appropriate time in appropriate manner and had left the damage to occur without taking any measures including revision of ministerial orders.  The state should therefore be condemned for its irrational and illegal act.  In addition, the Supreme Court on the Hokkaido Coal Dust Lung Lawsuit decided on July 14 this year to dismiss the final appeal lodged by the state and held the state responsible for the dust lung cases in coal mines in Hokkaido.  It is now evident that the state, including the Labor Ministry, Ministry of Economy and Industry and Ministry of Land and Transport, should sincerely accept the Supreme Court decisions on the two cases and proceed with revision of the ministerial orders for the elimination of dust lung disease.

 

During last year, the Ministry of Economy and Industry revised the enforcement regulations of the Mining Health and Safety Law and instituted the requirement for evaluation of fine particle measurements in metal ore and coal mining pits as well as for implementation of adequate measures based on this evaluation.  The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on its part issued the guidelines for the control of outdoor working environment and recommended the implementation of fine particle measurement for shipbuilding and other outdoor work.  These measures are not satisfactory in their substance, but we believe that they partly reflect our demands and regard them as one of the fruits of our movement.

 

In preparing the present “Our Proposal”, we picked up the measures that must be urgently taken under the responsibility of the administration and that can be implemented without waiting for the revision of relevant laws.  Consequently, these proposals alone are not sufficient for the eradication of dust lung and asbestos.  Nevertheless, they should be regarded as the actions to be undertaken immediately to significantly reduce the number of dust lung and asbestos sufferers.

 

To date, 22 prefectural assemblies and 1257 municipal assemblies (as of December 25, 2004, their number came down to 946 after municipal mergers) have adopted petitions calling for the elimination of dust lung.  Also 1,093 municipal mayors (818 after merger) and more than 300 parliamentarian have signed similar petitions.  The public opinion calling for the eradication of dust lung is growing every day.  The ILO and the WHO declared that dust-induced lung disease should be drastically reduced worldwide by 2005 and be eradicated by 2015.  For this, national governments are called on to develop a national plan for dust lung disease eradication.  Unfortunately, dust lung cases had not been drastically reduced by 2005, but we want to eliminate dust lung disease and asbestos damage from Japan as soon as possible by working in solidarity with other campaigns in Japan and abroad.

 

The present “Proposal” has been prepared in view of this year’s Caravan and includes only those actions we think the administration should undertake urgently.  We therefore welcome any positive opinions and remarks from those people acting for the eradication of dust lung and asbestos damage in different areas.

 

October 2005

 

 

Proposals

 

  1. Tunnel Construction

 

  • Compulsory periodic measurements of fine particles on tunnel construction sites and evaluation based on the results of these measurements

The evaluation of measurement results should be made compulsory.

 

Reasons:

 

  1. In order to develop a scientific and systematic response to dust lung, it is indispensable to verify on regular basis the presence of harmful and pneopneic fine particles in working environment and to measure their concentration levels (including free silic acid contents), and on the basis of the measurement results, to evaluate the working environment concerned from health and safety perspective to assess the effect of anti-dust measures in place. Without measurement of dust concentration, it is impossible to develop any prevention measure and to monitor and judge the effects of the measures taken.  Dust measurement is therefore an important prerequisite for dust prevention.

 

From this viewpoint, Article 65 of the Health and Safety Law requires the measurement of fine particles concentrations on hazardous worksites and Article 65-2 requires the evaluation of measured values in accordance with the evaluation standards defined by the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare.

 

  1. However, Article 21 of the Health and Safety Regulations and Article 25 of Dust Regulations limit the application of the requirement for dust measurement to “indoor worksites” and exclude worksites in tunnel construction galleries. Some claims that dust measurement for work performed in tunnel digging cannot be made compulsory because the source of dust moves every day.  But considering that the Mining Safety Regulations made the dust measurement compulsory for pit work in metal ore mining in 1988 and for coalmining in 1991, and that tunnel digging work is basically the same in terms of type of work and dust-generating mechanism as work in metal ore mining or coalmining, such a view is contradictory.

 

In the past, the evaluation of working environment on the basis of measurement results was not compulsory for mining pit worksites.  However, following the Supreme Court decision on Chikuho dust lung disease lawsuit, in a meeting of the House of Representatives’ economic and industrial committee on March 28, 2004, a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Industry stated: “From the perspective of ensuring the success of dust lung prevention in future, we give full consideration to the latest scientific and technical knowledge and examine the possibility of adopting a method similar to that for indoor work that is to evaluate the working environment on the basis of measurement results.  We are also seeking for advice of the experts and studying actions to be taken including making changes in current laws and regulations”.  Later, on the basis of the experts’ opinion, the Mining Safety Regulations were amended in March 2005 to make the evaluation based on measurement results compulsory.

 

  1. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in December 2000 issued the “Guidelines regarding anti-dust measures on tunnel and similar construction sites”. These Guidelines for the fist time laid down the requirement for the measurement of dust concentration in tunnel construction as well as the evaluation based on its results.  However, it was an internal notice and did not make the measurement and evaluation compulsory to contractors.  In addition, the dust measurement as it was defined by the “Guidelines”, was only to “verify the effect of ventilation and other measures”.  It was different from the “measurement of workers’ exposure concentration as defined by the Society of Occupational Health or the “concentration on worksite” defined by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.  Moreover, the “target level of dust concentration”, the criteria for the dust measurement evaluation is not defined in terms of the content of free silic acid, but set to a very high across-the -board level of 3mg/m3.

 

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, simultaneously with the revision on March 31, 2005 of the enforcement regulations for the Mining Safety Regulations mentioned above, issued the “Guidelines regarding the Control of Working Environment on Outdoor Worksites” (No.0331017) to specify the method of working environment measurement on outdoor worksites, the method of evaluation of measurement results as well as improvement measures to be taken.  These Guidelines excluded however the dust measurement and the evaluation for tunnel construction worksites, stating that they should follow the “Guidelines” of December 26, 2000 also mentioned-above.

 

Consequently, we believe that the dust measurement and the evaluation on the basis of measurement results should be made compulsory as soon as possible for work in galleries and shafts in tunnel construction sites.

 

  • Work in tunnel construction galleries should be limited to 8 hours of actual work, 5 days a week and any overtime work be prohibited. At least, 5-day workweek with 8 hours of actual work with no overtime work should be immediately established for workers found with signs of dust lung disease.

 

Reasons   

 

  1. In order to prevent dust lung disease, it is necessary to control the inhalation of dust by workers. For this, it is indispensable at first to control the release and scattering of fine particles and to minimize their concentration to a safe level.  A second step should be to prevent hazardous fine particles from entering into human body.

 

For preventing the inhalation of dust in the air, it is necessary to provide each worker with an effective dust mask designed to fit for wearing and actual wearing of that mask.  But this alone is not sufficient.  It is indispensable also to reduce time of work within tunnel (dust exposure time).

 

From this viewpoint, Article 65-4 of the Health and Safety Law provides that “an employer must not assign an employee working in diving and other operations that are likely to cause health damage as defined by the Labor Ministry Regulations, to any of these operations in infringement of the work time standards to be laid down by a ministerial order”.  This provision leaves to the Ministry of Labor to issue an order to restrict working hours for operations that do damage to workers’ health if performed for long hours.

 

  1. Nevertheless, to date, the Ministry of Labor has not issued any order for restricting working hours in relation to dust lung disease. For reference, we shall indicate that Article 15 of the Health and Safety Regulations for Work under High Air Pressure imposes a restriction on time of work and Article 27 also restricts working hours for diving operations.

 

The need for regulating hours of work in dust environment was stressed even before WWII.  The report on “Important Points for the Revision of Dust Lung related Laws” submitted to the 21st Meeting of the Commission on Dust Lung Disease convened for the revision of the Dust Lung Law (September 25, 1974) recommended a restriction on working hours: “workers are concerned by medical examination requirement should have their daily working hours limited to 8 hours.  Overtime work should be prohibited to workers with signs of dust lung disease.”  The report insisted that: “it is important to restrict working time to prevent dust lung disease as well as its progression”.  In spite of this, the current Dust Lung Law does not contain any restriction on hours of work in dust environment.  It provides instead the obligation of employers to “make effort for reduction of working time”, as a measure to minimize the dust exposure of workers found with signs of dust lung (Article 20-3).  In addition, the Dust Regulations established in 1979 merely provides the obligation of employer to “make effort to reduce working time” (Article 1-2), although the workers’ members of the Labor Commission had insisted to “introduce a restriction on working time” as an effective measure to reduce dust exposure time in addition to the prevention of dust release, in order to prevent dust-induced disorders”.

 

  1. By the way, work in tunnel construction is a shift work with two rotating teams, requiring at least 10 hours of actual work or 11 hours in total a day, with constant overtime work for both the day shift and night shift workers. Workers working in tunnel digging galleries are therefore exposed to dust for long hours. In addition, there are a large number of workers with signs of dust lung working in tunnel digging sites where there is no measure taken to minimize their exposure to dust.  They always work in shift with 10 hours of actual work, 11 hours in total.  Many of them therefore become seriously ill and have to quit their jobs to receive medical treatment.

 

It must be pointed out that one of the major factors of this deplorable situation of tunnel workers is the “Standards for Estimation of Engineering Works” defined by the Ministry of Land and Transport.  It is based on 2-shifts work schedules, with 11 hours of compulsory presence including 10 hours of actual work, and doe not contain any regulation on hours of work within tunnel worksites.  Consequently, it is an urgent task to realize without any delay a five-day workweek with 8 hours of actual work and a ban on overtime work at least for workers found with signs of dust lung disease.

 

  • Air-mask (airline mask) or other types of dust mask with similar or better efficiency should be supplied to workers assigned to mechanical digging, mechanical spoil heaping, cement spraying and similar types of operations in tunnel digging galleries and these masks should be worn by these workers.

 

Reasons

 

  1. In order to prevent dust lung disease, it is essential to prevent the generation of fine particles at their source and evacuate those that cannot be removed at their source by using dust collection devices, or by diluting or removing remaining dust by fresh air through ventilation. If these measures do not suffice, dust mask should be worn to avoid inhalation of fine particles into body. This means that the prevention of dust inhalation by the use of dust mask should be regarded as a second-best measure.

 

However, considering the poor conditions in tunnel digging galleries, wearing dust mask is indispensable for thwarting the risk of developing dust lung disease.  It is therefore necessary to make sure that a dust mask is provided to every worker and that every worker wears it.

 

  1. From this perspective, Article 27 of the Dust Regulations makes it compulsory for employer to provide “effective respiration protection device” to workers assigned to work in dust environment. For grinding and deburring operations by spraying abrasives, it specifies the provision of air mask or air breathing apparatus (Article 27, Table 3-5).

 

The reason why the Regulations specifies air mask or air breathing apparatus for grinding and deburring operations with abrasive spraying is that these operations generate massive amounts of fine particles and that operators are placed at very close distances from the source.  Ordinary dust mask does not have a sufficient capacity of reducing workers’ dust inhalation because of blinding.

 

  1. Mechanical digging, spoil heaping and cement spraying on tunnel worksites are operations that also generate very large amounts of fine particles. In addition, tunnel workers assigned to these operations are exposed to massive amounts of dust because they work very close to the source of dust.

 

These workers usually wear ordinary dust masks, but these masks are easily blinded and therefore are not efficient enough to prevent dust inhalation.  It is therefore necessary to make sure that the workers are provided with air masks (airline masks), not ordinary dust masks.

 

II.      Shipbuilding

 

  1. Dust measurement should be made compulsory.
    • Dust levels should be measured at least once a month.
    • Results of these measurements should be reported to the competent labor office and be made accessible to workers.
    • Record of these measurements should be kept permanently.
    • Recommendations made by the Occupational Health Society should be made legal maximum allowable limit.

 

Reasons

 

  1. In order to develop a scientific and systematic response to dust lung disease, it is indispensable to measure dust levels on dust workplaces to grasp the actual working environment. From this viewpoint, Article 65 of the Occupational Heath and Safety Law requires the measurement of working environment on worksites with hazardous operations. However, Article 21 of Enforcement Regulations of that Law as well as the Regulations for The Prevention of Dust-induced Disorders limit the worksites to which the legal provision applies to outdoor worksites (Article 25).

 

  1. In large shipyards that create many dust lung patients, most of workers who develop that disease are found on workplaces with dust exposure, including hull and equipment departments including repair section, installation, assembly, welding, grinding, painting, piping, crane operations and other works on surrounding worksites such as can manufacturing, casting and power generation factories. However, the requirement of dust measurement is not applied to docks and hull worksites, regarded as outdoor worksites, although welding and other dust-related operation are performed there. Today when a great majority of shipyards have adopted a block shipbuilding method, these operations are no different from indoor operations and anti-dust measures are indispensable for these worksites.

 

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on April 30, 2005 issued the “Guidelines for Outdoor Work Environment Management” to instruct and recommend that dust measurement be conducted also for outdoor operations including in shipyards.  Although we can positively evaluate this recommendation as a partial reflection of our demands, it is merely a ministerial notice and there is no penalty for its non-fulfillment.  It is very doubtful that such recommendation is surely observed.  We believe therefore that Article 25 of the relevant Regulations should be applied to every workplace with dust in shipyards and that periodic dust measurement be made compulsory.

 

  1. It is also essential that workers themselves be made aware of the risks that exist on their own worksites so as to ensure that they wear dust masks. For this, the results of measurement should be made accessible to workers,

 

  1. Considering that dust lung is a disease that often develops long after workers have left the jobs, the records of dust measurements should be kept indefinitely.

 

  1. Reduction of dust exposure time

 

  • Overtime work (including work on holidays ) should be banned for work with dust.
  • Dust exposure time should be limited. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare should assess the total hours of work with dust exposure of each worker, and for those workers whose hours of work exceed the set limit, prohibit their employers to assign these workers to work with dust exposure.

 

Reasons

 

  1. For the prevention of dust lung, it is necessary to control dust inhalation by workers. This requires the control of both the generation and scattering of fine particles and to reduce them as much as possible to bring their level to a safe level.  Then, as a second step, it is necessary to prevent hazardous dust released from entering human body.

 

The prevention of dust inhalation requires that dusk mask be supplied to each worker and that the worker wears that mask.  However, in reality, it is very difficult to totally avoid dust inhalation by wearing dust mask.  Reduction of dust exposure time is essential,

 

  1. Article 69 of the Health and Safety Law enacted in 1972 (Article 65-4 of the current Law) provided that “an employer must not assign an employee working in diving and other operations susceptible of causing health damage as defined by Labor Ministry Order, to any of these operations in infringement of the work time standards to be laid down by a Ministerial Order”. This provision leaves to the Ministry of Labor to issue an Order to restrict working hours for operations that do damage to workers’ health if performed long hours.

 

Nevertheless, to date, the Ministry of Labor has not issued any order for restricting working hours in relation to dust lung disease. For your reference, Article 15 of the Health and Safety Regulations for Work under High Air Pressure imposes a restriction on time of work and Article 27 also restricts working hours for diving operations.  It is necessary to immediately enact such regulations or to revise the existing ones to restrict the dust exposure time.

 

  1. Risk-free dust mask should be provided to each worker and used by each worker
    • Regulations on dust-related disorder prevention should be revised and employers should be made responsible for supplying risk-free dust mask to every employee and for ensuring that the mask be worn by employee.

 

    2) The Ministry should implement adequate supervision so as to ensure the provision and the use of risk-free dust masks.

 

Reasons

 

  1. In order to prevent dust lung disease, it is essential to prevent the generation of fine particles at their source and evacuate those that cannot be removed at their source by using dust collecting devices, or dilute or remove the dust by fresh air through ventilation. If these measures do not suffice, dust mask should be worn to avoid inhalation of dust into body. This means that the prevention of dust inhalation by dust mask is the second-best measure.

 

However, considering the poor conditions on each worksite, wearing dust mask is indispensable for thwarting the risk of developing dust lung disease.  It is therefore necessary to make sure that a risk-free dust mask is provided to every worker and that the worker wears that mask.

 

  1. In 1979, the Regulations on the Prevention of Dust-induced Disorders (Dust Regulations) was established on the basis on the Occupational Health and Safety Law. It makes it compulsory for employers to make their employees assigned to workplaces with dust exposure use effective breathing protectors, but it allows many exceptions mentioned below.  As a result of this, on many worksites with dust, risk-free masks are neither supplied to workers nor used by workers.

 

Consequently, the Dust Regulations should be revised to remove all exceptions contained in them.

 

The Dust Regulations provide that “workers assigned to operations such as cutting metals or arc welding within ships must use effective breathing protectors (Article 2-7).  In addition, the “6th Integrated Response for the Prevention of Dust-related Disorders” issued on May 29, 2003 designated the prevention of dust-related disorders in arc welding work as one of the priority tasks.  However, the Dust Regulations confine the works for which effective breathing protectors must be used into very narrows areas.  In addition, they dispense from the obligation of use of risk-free dust masks workplaces where a equipment for shutting up the dust source or localized ventilation device is installed, or where equipment for keeping the dust source humid.

 

There are many dust-releasing operations on shipyard workplaces such as metal cutting or arc welding.  These operations are performed not separately but in mixed way.  A great majority of shipyard workers are actually exposed to fine particles.  Even if localized ventilation system is installed, it is virtually impossible to completely remove these fine particles.  It is necessary therefore to make sure that all shipyard workers are given risk-free dust masks and that they always wear these masks when on worksites.

 

For this reason, the Dust Regulations should be revised and in the same time, the Ministry should instruct employers to provide risk-free dust masks to their employees and to make sure they wear these masks.  It should also conduct adequate supervision on regular basis to ensure that Dust Regulations is fully observed.

 

III.    Mining

 

  1. Dust measurement should be adequately implemented and obligation of dust concentration reduction on the basis of dust measurement should be reinforced.
    • Measures for improving dust concentration levels should be made compulsory in mining worksites classified category 3 on the basis of the evaluation of periodic dust measurement.
    • Results of dust measurement should be reported to the competent labor office and be made accessible to workers.
    • Record of these measurements should be kept permanently.
    • Recommendations made by the Occupational Health Society should be made legal maximum allowable limit.

 

Reasons

 

Dust measurement is the foundation of the response to dust lung disease.  Dust measurement in mines was made compulsory by the Regulations on Metal Ore Mining Health and Safety of 1988.  However, the evaluation of the results of dust measurement was not compulsory for mines for many years.  It became compulsory as late as March 2005, by a revision of the enforcement regulations of the Metal Ore Mining Health and Safety Regulations.  However, on the mining worksites classified as category III by the evaluation, improvement of fine particle concentrations merely remains an “obligation of effort” (Article 10-8).  It is evident that “employers’ effort” is not strong enough.  Improvement of control of fine particle concentrations must be made compulsory as it is for indoor worksites.

 

It is also necessary to disclose the results of dust measurement and their evaluation to workers at anytime so that they are able to precisely understand their working environment and the risk of developing dust lung.  It is currently provided that the records of results of dust measurement and their evaluation must be kept for 7 years, but considering the fact that this disease often develops many years after workers left the dust worksites, these records should be kept permanently so as to allow the verification of the causes of dust lung disease and the development of efficient response.

 

  1. Reduction of dust exposure time

 

  • Overtime work (including work on holidays ) should be banned for work with dust.
  • Dust exposure time should be limited. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare should assess the total hours of work with dust exposure of each worker, and for those workers whose hours of work exceed the set limit, prohibit their employers to assign these workers to work with dust exposure.

 

Reasons

Same as II. Shipbuilding

 

 

  1. Risk-free dust mask should be provided to each worker and used by each worker
  • Regulations on dust-related disorder prevention should be revised and employers should be made responsible for supplying risk-free dust mask to every employee and for ensuring that the mask be worn by employee.

 

  • The Ministry should implement adequate supervision so as to ensure the provision and the use of risk-free dust masks.

 

Reasons

 

The Regulations on Metal Ore Mining Health and Safety and the Dust Regulations impose the obligation on employers to make their workers use effective breathing protectors when working in mines.  In reality however, this obligation is not sufficiently fulfilled and metal or mines still create dust lung sufferers.

 

In addition, the Dust Regulations exclude from the definition of operations with dust exposure, digging, loading and unloading of “ wet mud and stones”, and dispense as a result from the use of effective breathing protectors for the use of protectors.  However, even “wet mud and stones” have the risk of releasing fine particles in the above mentioned operations and deciding if the ore in question is “wet” or not can be arbitrary.  Therefore, the Dust Regulations should be revised and employers should be instructed to make sure that every mining worker is supplied with risk-free dust mask and he/she wears it.  In addition, the Ministry should implement a constant and adequate supervision.

 

IV.     Asbestos

The use of asbestos should be totally banned and relief should be provided to the victims.

  • The enforcement regulations for the Occupational Health and Safety Law were amended and the production asbestos products banned in principle. However, some products such as joint sheet sealing materials are still manufactured because there is no substitute.  Production of asbestos should be quickly banned.

 

  • When demolishing or refurbishing buildings, all possible measures should be taken to prevent scattering and spreading of asbestos. In addition, when demolishing a building, not only removal of sprayed or pasted asbestos, but also other operations dealing with asbestos should be reported to the head of the competent labor standards inspectorate.  Also, the requirements for those who place the order of these works should be reinforced.

 

  • Adequate health control should be provided to all workers exposed to asbestos, including issuance of health control handbooks that entitled them to free medical examinations. The requirement of asbestosis/ pleural plaque for qualification to the health control handbook should be revised and the handbook should be given to all those who have the record of asbestos exposure. It is also necessary to issue the handbook to sailors and public sector workers who are currently not entitled to it.  In addition, those who are likely to undergo environmental exposure or exposure via a family member should also receive the handbook.

 

  • In “On the requirements for recognition of asbestos-related diseases”, it is specified that “sign of asbestosis appearing on chest X-ray photo must be bigger than the first type”. The cases of asbestosis with about 0/1 asbestosis legion should be considered as occupational disease.

 

  • Information on asbestos-related diseases (application for compensation, asbestos risks) should be promoted. Adequate information should be provided not only to hospitals designated by workmen’s compensation insurance but also to other private health institutions so that doctors can encourage their patients to apply for workmen’s compensation.

 

  • A compensation system for sufferers of environmental exposure and family exposure as well as for the self-employed who do not have compensation insurance. Such system should allow these sufferers to receive from the state a compensation similar to that provided by workmen’s compensation insurance.

 

Reasons

 

  1. Asbestos is a carcinogenic substance that causes asbestosis, malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer. It was used massively in many workplaces in shipbuilding and construction and those workers who have long worked on these workplaces show high incidences of these diseases. Malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer in particular tend to increase in recent years.  It is estimated that from mesothelioma alone, more than 100,000 people will die in the coming 40 years (as deaths from asbestos-related lung cancer is said to be the double of those from mesothelioma, over 300,000 people in total will die because of asbestos!).  The risk of asbestos-induced health disorder is high and its damage is tremendous.

 

  1. The enforcement regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Law was revised and the production of products containing asbestos is banned in principle. Joint sheet sealing materials, heat-resistant/electrical isolation plates and other products that are mainly used in piping of chemical plants and power plants are still produced, because there is no alternative for the sake of fire and explosion prevention.  The production of all products containing asbestos including those mentioned above should be immediately banned.

 

  1. As asbestos has already been used for many years in Japan, in particular as a result of massive production and use of building materials containing asbestos, there is a serious threat that asbestos is scattered and spread when buildings are demolished or refurbished. In July this year, the Regulations for the Prevention of asbestos-induced Disorders were enforced, making it an obligation to implement prior assessment, planning of works as well as special training on asbestos.  Despite these progresses for disorder prevention, we cannot say that all possible measures have taken.  For example, isolation measure must be taken for removing sprayed asbestos, but tearing sheet asbestos can be done by only keeping away “people other than workers”.  Other operations dealing with asbestos can be performed by keeping away “people other than those concerned”.  We believe that “when removing asbestos in demolition of buildings”, it should be “isolated” regardless the types of asbestos used.  In addition, all possible measures should be taken for preventing the asbestos dust exposure of workers assigned to removal and collection of asbestos as well as of local residents living in vicinity.

 

There is more than little risk of scattering and spreading of asbestos in works dealing with sprayed or other asbestos, report to the head of labor standard inspectorate should be made compulsory for any work dealing with asbestos, not limiting it to sprayed asbestos.

 

When the construction of a new building requires demolition or refurbishing old ones, the person who places order, out of cost concern, may impose illegal works to contractors.  Therefore, the responsibilities should be extended not only for contractors but also the one who places order.

 

  1. Unlike other types of fine particles, asbestos can induce malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer even in those who have not inhaled asbestos in large amount and not over a long period of time. Therefore the health control heath handbook should be accorded to all workers who have been exposed to asbestos and make them take periodic health examinations regardless of the length of their exposure and regardless of their category of asbestos disease recognition.

 

Regarding the concrete requirement for obtaining the handbook, which is currently “the applicant to the handbook must be found with asbestosis or pleural plaque” should be removed and the handbook should be given to all those who have a record of asbestos exposure (many of those who have a record of asbestos exposure are not found with asbestosis or pleural plaque and   many of these people found with no signs of asbestosis or pleural plaque develop mesothelioma and/or lung cancer).

 

Environmental exposure and family exposure have already created victims and have become a problem of our society as a whole.  The handbook should be provided to all those who are likely to have suffered environmental or family exposure.

 

  1. In the “Recognition Standards for Asbestos-related Diseases (that entitles applicants to obtain the handbook)” that has recently been revised, it is provided that the applicant for recognition must have found with signs of asbestosis on chest X-ray photo is classified into category 1 or more”. Before the revision, the “Standards” included an additional sentence to that requirement: “those applicants who are diagnosed by a dust lung examiner (a physician) with signs of asbestosis although these signs on X-ray photo cannot be classified into category 1 must be treated in the same way as those specified above”.  This addition has been taken out from the revised “Standards” which make it difficult for applicants with signs of asbestosis of level 0/1 who do not have pleural plaque to be recognized as occupational disease sufferers.  The above addition should be re-incorporated to the revised “Standards” and “workers with signs of asbestos of level 0/1” should be recognized as occupational disease sufferers.

 

  1. Most cases of malignant mesothelioma are related with asbestos exposure, but the mesothelioma patients who have qualified to workers’ compensation account for only 10% of the total. There are many reasons for this:
    • They have a record of asbestos exposure, but for a short period of time and they themselves have forgotten about it.
    • They have a record of asbestos exposure, but they were not told by their employers that they were dealing with asbestos products and they are not aware that they were exposed.
    • They have a record of asbestos exposure, but they or their family do not know that malignant mesothelioma is an occupational disease and have not applied for recognition.

 

These are the cases we believe are the most common cases of non-application for compensation.  It can be said that the public in general do not have sufficient understanding of asbestos.  The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare should take the lead in providing information about asbestos so that the understanding “malignant mesothelioma = asbestos = occupational disease” becomes a common knowledge in our society.

 

Among the cases that fall in the category 3), there are some cases of workers who have applied for recognition upon the advice of a doctor who had the knowledge.  It is therefore necessary to provide sufficient information to medical institutions designated by the workmen’s compensation insurance about the current standards of occupational disease recognition.

 

  1. As cases of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma have been reported in the areas around Kubota Co. in Amagasaki City, it is evident that risks of asbestos exposure exist not only for workers but also for the residents living near the sources. On the basis of the principles for the prevention of asbestos-related diseases, information should be provided to these residents.  In addition, given that there is no compensation system for people other than workers subject to workmen’s compensation insurance, a compensation comparable to that for occupational accidents sufferers should be provided to these people, including sufferer of environmental or family exposure and the self-employed.

 

National Organizing Committee for National Caravan “No More Dust Lungs!”

 

Representative Members

 

SATO Ryoichi : President, Kenkoro

NAKAYAMA Shin: President, Tokyo District Trade Unions Council

HIDA Shuntaro: President, All Japan Federation of Democratic Health Institutions (Min-iren)

FUKUCHI Yasuma: President, National Center for Workers’ Health and Safety

YASUDA Keni: President, All Japan Port Workers’ Trade Union

YAMASHITA Toshio: President, National Liaison of Lawyers for Dust Lung Lawsuits

 

Address:

Secretariat, National Liaison of Lawyers for Dust Lung Lawsuits

Shin-Yotsuya Ekimae Buildg. 5F

Yotsuya 1-5, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

 

Tel: +81-3-3357-0286   Fax: +81-3-5363-9392