Ministry of Environment Mandates Asbestos Investigation for All Regional Childcare Centers

Asbestos landscaping stone. Photo unrelated to the article. Photo by Yonhap News.

From now on, asbestos investigations will be mandatory at all local children's centers nationwide.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Environment announced that the Cabinet approved a partial amendment to the "Asbestos Safety Management Act Enforcement Decree." The amendment mainly imposes related responsibilities on local children's centers under 500㎡, which previously had no obligation for asbestos investigation. Local children's centers using asbestos building materials covering 50㎡ or more must designate a manager and investigate the damage status and potential for asbestos dispersion every six months. Indoor asbestos concentration must also be measured every two years.

Currently, among 1,390 local children's centers, 709 centers (51%) use asbestos building materials covering 50㎡ or more. Nevertheless, the current law requires asbestos investigations only for facilities with a total area of 500㎡ or more, raising concerns that small-scale facilities are left in a blind spot for asbestos management.

In addition, the Ministry of Environment has required provincial governors to establish management plans for the sale, storage, and display of landscaping stones exposed to asbestos. This aims to preemptively block the distribution of landscaping stones containing asbestos.

Park Yeon-jae, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, explained, "Through this amendment to the enforcement decree, asbestos management at local children's centers, which have been blind spots in management until now, will be strengthened, contributing to the protection of children's health."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.