• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.18-27
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• 2020

Objectives: For testing asbestos stabilizer products which are used for the maintenance and management of asbestos-containing materials, durability assessment should accompany the evaluation of basic properties and performance. Therefore, in this study we designed a testing method and constructed a database of durability performance, thereby providing basic data for reliability studies of asbestos stabilizer. Methods: Since the ceiling materials targeted in this study are interior materials, test conditions of 95% relative humidity and 60℃ temperature were designed in consideration of the effect of high relative humidity in summer and seasonal indoor temperatures. Plate-shaped specimens treated with asbestos stabilizers were maintained in a thermo-hygrostat for 5, 10, and 20 days, and then the asbestos scattering prevention rate was measured by air erosion testing. Results: The scattering concentration tended to increase with time under the single humidity condition, and exceeded the indoor air quality standard of 0.01 f/cc, during the 20 days of maintenance. On the other hand, there was little change according to the temperature condition. In the case of a complex condition with temperature and humidity, the results were similar to the humidity test, but the scattering concentration increased more sharply at 20 days. Conclusions: The main deterioration factor that affects the durability of asbestos stabilizer is humidity, and the deterioration is caused by a mechanism in which the stabilizer coated on the surface is re-dissolved by moisture and evaporates or the coating layer is peeled off, which is accelerated by high temperatures.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.325-337
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• 2014

The research on the actual condition of indoor asbestos concentration in Korea has not been thoroughly accomplished up to now. In this research the ratio of asbestos-containing buildings and indoor asbestos concentration was studied. This investigation was conducted in 2012 and 2013 and buildings were categorized based on region, building type by use, existing space(ground or basement), and construction year, respectively. Also the indoor asbestos concentration change was monitored to evaluation the efficiencies of two types of asbestos-concentration abatement devices. As a result, the ratio of asbestos-containing buildings in Seoul was largely decreased. The ratio of asbestos-containing buildings was higher in hospitals and schools regionally and in ground buildings than in basement. The average indoor asbestos concentrations were 0.0011, 0.0008 piece/cc in 2012 and 2013 investigation, respectively. Those values were much lower than standards(0.01 piece/cc), therefore the threat of indoor asbestos concentration might be negligible. In asbestos-concentration abatement experiments, the circulation velocity of ventilator were changed 2-6.7 m/sec. With 6.7 m/sec of velocity of ventilator, the concentration of indoor asbestos was fluctuated and maximum value was 2.4 piece/cc. With 4.5 and 2 m/sec of velocities of ventilator, the maximum concentration of indoor asbestos was fluctuated and maximum value was 0.9 piece/cc. This indicated that the concentration of indoor asbestos was decreased partly due to the free drop of asbestos. From these results, the proper velocity of ventilator seems to be between 4.7 and 6.5m/sec under this circumstance and further research is required. These research results may be used to guideline of asbestos management policy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.307-320
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• 2009

This study was conducted not only to review airborne asbestos levels reported in workplaces in Korea, but also to analyze their levels according to various characteristics All asbestos concentration reported as either geometric mean (GM) and geometric standard deviation (GSD) or ranges were transformed to arithmetic mean to estimate exposure level. In addition, weighted arithmetic means (WAMs) were calculated to weigh asbestos levels based on the different number of samples. Differences of asbestos levels among several characteristics such as industry type, decade, operation and sampling and analytical methods were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The number of articles studying asbestos levels from workplaces was found to be 9 including two report types. Five of those were reported prior to 1990s and rest of them after 1990s. Only several industries such as asbestos textile, asbestos cement, brake-lining repair shops were studied, while various industries using asbestos or asbestos containing materials (ACMs) were not studied. ANOVA found that asbestos exposure levels (WAM = 5.26f/cc) reported from textile industry were significantly higher than those from other industries (cement = 0.63f/cc, brake-lining = 0.2f/cc - 0.47f/cc) (p < 0.0001). Average exposure levels studied prior to the 1990s (3.13f/cc) were found to be significantly higher than that (0.86f/cc) after the 1990s (p<0.0001). All WAMs reported until the 1994 were found to be higher than the current occupational exposure limits (0.1f/cc). This study recommends that retrospective exposure to asbestos based on various industry types and operations should be assessed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.139-146
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to confirm the optimal processing conditions of the asbestos stabilizer by considering various actual environments at the time of stabilization treatment of the ceiling materials containing asbestos with asbestos stabilizer. Methods: The anti-scattering performances of the asbestos stabilizer were confirmed by considering the method and quantity of the asbestos stabilizer treated, comparing the loss weight by measuring the weight of ceiling materials prior to and after having treated 30, 50, 100, 200, and 400 of stabilizer using the brush and spray. The effects of backside dust and steel frame structure on the performances of the stabilizer was also confirmed by comparing samples with and without the dust on the rear surface removed by wiping the ceiling material specimens and the blinding treatment simulated by using tape. Results: The asbestos stabilization treatment using the brush method in comparison with the use of a spray has reduced stabilizer loss, resulting in better anti-scattering performance. In addition, the stabilizer loss is increased with increasing treatment quantity; as a result, treating a larger quantity of stabilizer does not improve the performance. For the conditions related to ceiling materials, the anti-scattering performance is enhanced by removing the backside dust and spreading the stabilizer evenly on the masking portion by steel frame structures. Conclusions: Based on these results, it is determined that the appropriate choice of the tool used for the treatment of the asbestos stabilizer and the appropriate quantity of asbestos stabilizer were needed at the time of actual stabilization processing of the ceiling materials containing asbestos. Moreover, this study confirmed that preliminary processing and verification of the structure at which the ceiling materials are installed can enhance the effectiveness of prevention of the scattering of asbestos into the air.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2020

Even asbestos-containing waste (ACW) are highly harmful to humans, it continues being produced due to the massive disposal of asbestos-containing products. A development of asbestos detoxification and recycling technologies is required. Heat treatment using microwave is the most efficient method for ACW detoxification. However, microwave heat treatment method has the limitation that asbestos does not absorb microwave at room temperature. That is why, in this study, ACW was detoxified by microwave heat treatment adding the ACW between SiC plates, which are inorganic heating elements that absorb microwaves at room temperature. In order to improove the heat transfer, ACW was crushed and pulverized and then heated using microwave. Microwave heat treatment temperature and time variables were adjusted to investigate the detoxification properties according to heat treatment conditions. After heat treatment, treated ACW was analyzed for detoxification properties through crystal structure and microstructure analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microwave heat treatment method using SiC plate can be heated up to the target temperature within a short time. Finally, complete asbestos detoxification was confirmed from the crystal structure and the microstructure when the microwave heat treatment was performed at 1,200℃ for at over 60 minutes and at 1,300℃ for at over 10 minutes.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2009

This study was examined to find out asbestos exposure level the factors which affected the level at asbestos abatement sites. We visited a total of thirteen building demolition sites(3 apartments, 3 schools, 4 stores, and 3 houses) were visited to collect samples and related data from August to November, 2006. The results of this study were as follows 1. The results of an analysis of bulk samples to identify types of asbestos at the asbestos abatement sites showed that the kinds of the asbestos detected were chrysotile by 50.0%, were tremolite by 2.6%, and were the contents of chrysotile by 3 to 20%. 2. The geometric mean concentration of asbestos was 0.007 f/cc(range 0.001-0.34 f/cc) and its geometric standard deviation was 5.83. Of the samples, however, 12 exceeded the Korean Occupational Exposure Limit(0.1f/cc). 3. Of the materials, textile material had the highest concentration with geometric mean of 0.016 f/cc. When asbestos-containing materials were removed using T type tools, the geometric mean concentration of asbestos was 0.061 f/cc. The level by this method was much higher than by other removal methods. In analysis by the type of building, the geometric mean concentration of asbestos in stores was 0.042 f/cc and was higher than in other buildings. 4. The Poisson regression analysis was applied to find out the factors that affect the airborne asbestos concentration. As a result of the analysis, removal using a T type tool was the most important factor affecting the asbestos concentration(p<0.01). In conclusion, the airborne asbestos concentration(geometric mean) in asbestos abatement sites was 0.007 f/cc(0.001~0.34 f/cc), and 12(14.6%) of all samples were over the 0.1 f/cc. These results showed that asbestos abatement workers have been exposed to the high level of airborne asbestos because they have not been keeping asbestos removal rule. In accordance with increases of the number of building demolition sites, the better government regulation on asbestos abatement methods should be made and be performed well at building demolition sites.

• Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.83-90
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• 2010

As a reinforced fabric, asbestos has been utilized as a fire-resistant material as it has a superior flexural stiffness and heat resistance up to $1500^{\circ}C$. However, due to its harmfulness, its use has been prohibited recently and the even the installed asbestos materials are being repaired or supplemented if there is a concern about flying. Asbestos is mainly used for construction panels as a reinforced fabric and coating materials to ensure the fire-resistance of steel frames. Asbestos was used as fire-resistant materials for steel frames until 1991 and then prohibited as Act on Industrial Safety and Health limits the concentration of asbestos in the air. Classified as a designated waste according to Act on Waste Control, asbestos must be buried if there is no possibility of flying (panel-type materials) or cement-solidified and then buried if there is a possibility of flying (spray coating material) In general, it is required that a new waste landfill include a certain landfill facility for designated waste, but in reality there is an absolute storage of landfill facilities for designated waste as they only install facilities of the size required by the regulations. This could result in the 2nd environmental pollution as they cannot process asbestos wastes which will be generated in large volume in the future. This study explores a method that melts asbestos wastes at $700^{\circ}C$ rather than cement-solidifying the waste asbestos from construction sites, especially asbestos-containing spray coating. The study results showed that there was no change in the composition and shape even though asbestos wastes was melted at $1300^{\circ}C$, but there was a change for the specimen which was process in advance for low temperature melting and then melt at $900^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2015

Objectives: This study is designed to analyze the penetration performance into ceiling materials containing asbestos of scattering prevention agents and investigate the change in penetration depth and viscosity according to the dilution rate of anti-scattering agents diluted with distilled water. Methods: Five different types of scattering prevention agents were spread on plate-type asbestos ceiling materials. The penetration depth of each coated ceiling material was measured by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, based on X-ray fluorescence (XRF) results of the non-coated ceiling materials. Test equipment installed the ceiling materials and 60 minutes were collected at a flow rate of $10{\ell}/min$ at a filter of 25 mm. Results: An EDS analysis of the cross-section of ceiling materials constructed with a scattering prevention agent revealed that potassium is detected in the process of penetrating hardener solidification and this element could be an indicator for infiltration. When anti-scattering agents with different viscosities were constructed and the penetration depth was analyzed by potassium detection assessment using EDS, the depth results with viscosities of 5.0, 2.5, and 1.9 cP were 98.5, 103, and $147{\mu}m$, respectively. Penetration performance improved with decrease in viscosity. Conclusions: For asbestos ceiling materials, it is concluded that a higher dilution rate of the scattering prevention agent leads to lower viscosity, and hence a deeper penetration depth from $156{\mu}m$ to 3 mm. The asbestos anti-scattering properties according to the penetration depth will be confirmed through further study.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2014

Objectives: This study is intended to seek credible and efficient measurements on airborne asbestos concentrations that allow immediate action by establishing complementary data through comparative analysis with existing PCM and KF-100 method real-time monitoring equipment in working areas in Seoul where asbestos-containing buildings are being demolished, including living environment surroundings. Materials: We measured airborne asbestos concentrations using PCM and KF-100 at research institutes, monitoring networks, subway stations and demolition sites of asbestos-containing buildings. Through this measurement data and KF-100 performance testing, we drew a conversion factor and applied it via KF-100. Finally we verified the relationship between PCM and KF-100 with statistical methods. Results: The airborne asbestos concentrations by PCM for the objects of study were less than the detection limit(7 fiber/$mm^2$) in three (20%) out of 15 samples. The highest concentration was 0.009 f/cc. The airborne asbestos concentrations by PCM in laboratories, monitoring networks, subway stations and demolition sites of asbestos-containing buildings were respectively $0.002{\pm}0.000$ f/cc, $0.004{\pm}0.001$ f/cc, $0.009{\pm}0.001$ f/cc, and $0.002{\pm}0.000$ f/cc. As a result of KF-100 performance testson rooftops, the conversion factor was 0.1958. Applying the conversion factor to KF-100 for laboratories, the airborne asbestos concentrations ratio of the two ways was nearly 1:1.5($R^2$=0.8852). Also,the airborne asbestos concentration ratio of the two ways was nearly 1:1($R^2$=0.9071) for monitoring networks, subway stations, and demolition sites of asbestos-containing buildings. As a result of independent sample t-tests, there was no distinction between airborne asbestos concentrations monitored in the two ways. Conclusions: In working areas where asbestos-containing buildings are being demolished, including living environment surroundings, quickly and accurately monitoring airborne asbestos scattered in the air around the working area is highly important. For this, we believea mutual interface of existing PCM and a real-time monitoring equipment method is possible.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.163-169
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• 2010

All forms of asbestos are proven human carcinogens. All forms of asbestos cause malignant mesothelioma, lung, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers, and may cause gastrointestinal and other cancers. No exposure to asbestos is without risk, and there is no safe threshold of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos cancer victims die painful lingering deaths. These deaths are almost entirely preventable. When evidence of the carcinogenicity of asbestos became incontrovertible, concerned parties, including the Collegium Ramazzini, called for a universal ban on the mining, manufacture and use of asbestos in all countries around the world. Asbestos is now banned in 52 countries, and safer products have replaced many materials that once were made with asbestos. Nonetheless, a large number of countries still use, import, and export asbestos and asbestos-containing products. And still today in many countries that have banned other forms of asbestos, the so-called "controlled use" of chrysotile asbestos continues to be permitted, an exemption that has no basis in medical science but rather reflects the political and economic influence of the asbestos mining and manufacturing industry. To protect the health of all people in the world, industrial workers, construction workers, women and children, now and in future generations - the Collegium Ramazzini calls again today on all countries of the world, as we have repeatedly in the past, to join in the international endeavor to ban all forms of asbestos. An international ban on asbestos is urgently needed.