The Dawn of Technology Cutting Through the Shadow of Asbestos Japan's Quiet Turnaround in the Early to Late 2000s

The Dawn of Technology Cutting Through the Shadow of Asbestos Japan's Quiet Turnaround in the Early to Late 2000s

It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that Japan began to confront the dangers of asbestos in earnest. Asbestos building materials, which had been used for many years since Japan's period of rapid economic growth, lurked deep within society in such places as schools, buildings, factories, and public facilities. However, the quiet threat of asbestos came to the surface in 2005 with the Kubota Shock, when it was reported that residents were suffering from a high incidence of mesothelioma, and the government was suddenly confronted with a serious problem.

This incident marked the beginning of a shift from quantity to quality in asbestos abatement. The era has changed from simply removing asbestos to strictly enforcing standards for how to safely control its dispersion and how to prevent its residue. Regulations such as the Air Pollution Control Law and the Industrial Safety and Health Law were tightened, and local governments strengthened their supervision systems.

The dispersal suppressant New Dyloc was born in response to these changes. Conventional wetting methods left a risk of fibers flying up even in hard-to-reach areas such as ceilings and complicated piping. New Dyloc has a structure that forms a film that envelops the fibers and greatly inhibits scattering. In the latter half of the 2000s, New Dylock was adopted in public works projects and became the core of anti-scattering measures.

On the other hand, the high-cut method emerged to eliminate the problem of residual fibers after removal. The Hi-Cut method cuts the fine fibers remaining on the concrete surface and collects dust at the same time, thereby reducing the possibility of re-scattering. This technology was highly evaluated and widely used in schools, hospitals, and other facilities that require strict safety standards.

These technologies symbolize that asbestos removal is not the end of the process, but rather a comprehensive process to ensure a safe future. The New Dirlock method as a shield to seal off dispersion and the Hi-Cut method as a blade to cut off residual asbestos played an important role in the history of environmental technology in Japan.