Asbestos Disaster: Lessons from Japan’s Experience

Description

Japan’s asbestos disasters, encompassing both occupational disease and environmental pollution, have been caused principally by the asbestos textile, asbestos cement water pipe, and construction industries. This book is unique in its interdisciplinary approach to those disasters as it incorporates medical science, economics, political science, law, architecture, environmental engineering, sociology, and journalism. Written by authorities in their fields, the chapters reflect the integration of these disciplines in topics that include a historical review of asbestos issues in Japan, asbestos-related diseases, international aspects of the asbestos industry, public policy, divisions of responsibility, relief activities in emergencies, and countermeasures enacted by local governments. The lessons of asbestos problems and policies in Japan are particularly important for developing countries to prevent the proliferation of asbestos disasters. This volume serves as a textbook on asbestos issues for all countries, especially where there is widespread use of asbestos. Front Matter....Pages i-xviii A Political Economy of Asbestos Disasters....Pages 1-18 An Exploration of Measures Against Industrial Asbestos Accidents  *....Pages 19-46 Why Did the Asbestos Disaster Spread?....Pages 47-54 Asbestos Pollution and Its Health Effects: Asbestos-Related Diseases in Japan....Pages 55-74 Mesothelioma Due to Neighborhood Asbestos Exposure: A Large-Scale, Ongoing Disaster Among Residents Living Near a Former Kubota Plant in Amagasaki, Japan....Pages 75-92 Asbestos Disasters and Public Policy: From the Prewar Era Through the Postwar Economic Boom *....Pages 93-126 Persistent Thorns: Responsibility for Asbestos Disasters....Pages 127-150 Asbestos Industry Transplants from Japan to South Korea....Pages 151-184 Inaction on Asbestos Disasters and Delayed Countermeasures*....Pages 185-200 Process Tracing of Asbestos Politics in Japan: Focus on Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006....Pages 201-231 Future Challenges for Asbestos Policy in the Construction Industry....Pages 233-249 Local Government Measures Against Asbestos: Tokyo Metropolitan and Osaka Prefectural Governments as Case Studies....Pages 251-279 Asbestos Litigation in Japan: Recent Trends and Related Issues....Pages 281-302 The French Indemnification Fund for Asbestos Victims: Features and Formative Historical Factors: Preliminary Observations for a Comparative Analysis of Asbestos Relief Frameworks....Pages 303-313 Back Matter....Pages 315-318