The government has decided to enforce a ban on the use of asbestos in all manufactured products starting September. The new policy was prompted by the detection in April of the material, which can cause lung cancer, in some products such as rubber balloons and bicycle brake pads.

According to standards released on Monday by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, manufacturers will be completely banned from using asbestos for manufactured products for children or for products such as balloons, chalk and brake pads where particles can rub loose and touch skin.

The asbestos content for other manufactured products will be restricted to less than 0.1 percent. In case of paint and wallpaper which use talc at the raw material stage, the ministry will compel manufacturers to get a public certificate proving that raw talc contains less than 1 percent asbestos.