Japan: Disclosures about sbestos- tainted soil at Kirin brewery

Around 150 tons of asbestos-contaminated soil was found out last autumn at the former site of Kirin Brewery Co.'s factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture . This was learned on August 23 according to Yomiuri Shimbun report.

A big volume of asbestos-contaminated mud and waste also was found at the nearby Kubota Corp.'s former Kanzaki factory. Both firms have removed the tainted soil. The Amagasaki municipal government affirmed the asbestos had not scattered and had no effect on neighboring communities because the contaminated soil was buried.

Kirin said it discovered a 150-square-meter patch of discolored white soil in September, when it was levelling land on the site of its former Amagasaki factory, which was closed in 1996. The 50-centimeter-thick layer of contaminated soil was found one meter underground in an area where a wastewater-processing facility had been located. When soil analysis confirmed asbestos contamination, the firm notified the municipal government. The soil was removed in October and treated as industrial waste subject to anti-scattering measures.

Kirin Brewery began operation at the Amagasaki factory in 1918 and purchased the contaminated land in the 1960s. The contaminated soil is believed to have been there before the firm purchased the land. Kirin Brewery said it did not know when or why the asbestos was buried.

Until the Waste Management Law was revised in 1997, it was permissible to dispose of asbestos by burying it without taking anti-scattering measures. Further cases of asbestos-contaminated soil are likely to be disclosed.

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