By Megan E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

SEOUL, South Korea-A report by the South Korean government’s Ministry of Labour, confirmed that 131 buildings in Sungdong-Gu, Seoul were condemned and slated for removal of asbestos. Parents of local children who attended a nearby nursery school were not informed the operation was underway or the asbestos health threat.

According to a report by World Health Organization(WHO), asbestos has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as carcinogenic to humans. It is reported that asbestos-containing materials are still in place in many buildings and exposure continues during maintenance, alteration, removal and demolition. Asbestos can lead to development of cancer which may stay latent for decades. While many developing countries have been banning asbestos since the early 1990s, the government of Korea banned it only in 2009. As most of the current buildings contain asbestos, their demolition exposes residents and workers to asbestos.

While the demolition occurred in Sungdong-Gu, an area designated to be re-developed, 120 children, all under the age of five, continued to go to school while surrounding buildings underwent asbestos removal. The children were exposed to the toxic matter for seven months. Many children began to experience sicknesses, such as skin inflammation, coughs, phlegm, pneumonia, conjunctivitis. Once parents learned that asbestos was being removed, they made visits to the Seoul City administration, the Sungdong-Gu administration and the Ministry of Labour to make a civil appeal, however, their effort were thwarted by officials who brushed their concern aside. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), various government authorities continuously avoided calls from parents as they tried to investigate the situation.

After attempting to get an affirmative response as to what was being done at the construction site, civilians began conducting independently commissioned tests. Civilians used the Citizen’s Institute for Environmental Studies and the Institute of Specialized Analysis for Asbestos (ISAA) to test the area, and seven tests have been conducted since April. ISAA, which is authorized by the Ministry of Labour, concluded that nine out of eighteen sites investigated had levels of asbestos beyond the standard – including the area around the nursery school

Consequently, part of the demolition has been stopped, and in May, officials promised to have the school re-located. As of September 15, no steps to relocate the school had yet been taken. The local administration refused to acknowledge the ISAA investigations, and continues to maintain that the levels of asbestos in the area were safe, and presently only one demolition site has been stopped in the Wang-ship-li area after intense pressure from parents and environmental groups continued. Parents still express concern over the remaining demolition as those sites are still near the unmoved school where the children continue to attend.

For more information, please see:

Asian Human Rights Commission – South Korean Government Violated 120 Children’s Human Rights – September 25, 2009

World Trade Organization – Elimination of Asbestos Related Diseases 

Global Post – The Deadly Air They Breathed – July 24, 2009