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Carcinogenic asbestos has been detected in 17 stations on three lines of Seoul's subway system. Seoul Metro announced Monday that experts conducted tests last November and detected carcinogenic asbestos in 14 stations on Line 2 (Youngdeungpo Office, Hanyang Univ, Euljiro 1-ga, Shinlim, City Hall, Seolleung, Bangbae, Sangwangsimni, Samsung, Bongrae, Munglae, Nakseongdae, Seoul Nat'l Univ. of Education and Seocho). On Line 3, Chungmuro station was found to have asbestos, and on Line 4 Sukmyung Womans Univ. and Sungshin Women's Univ. (Donam) stations tested positive.
An official from ETS Consulting, the environmental testing and survey firm that conducted the tests, said that the substance levels were not dangerous. "Although it's true that harmful substances from building materials were detected, they were all below the permissible level," the official sad. Most of the fibers were found in cracks and joints, while the fibers in the air are of negligible quantities, the official said, and would not cause passengers serious harm.
The asbestos was found to have come from construction projects from the 1970s and 1980s when the material was used on cooling and heating ducts and as a sound-absorber sprayed on ceilings to reduce noise. Since 2001, Seoul Metro said, the company has used only asbestos-free materials in its stations. In order to keep on top of the problem, the subway operator said that it will designate stations where maintenance and repair works are underway as "special area for asbestos management."
However experts said that strict control is required to prevent asbestos spreading during maintenance jobs. "The work has to be done very carefully, including preventing damage to joints when dismantling ducts and coating ceilings to keep asbestos from being scattered in the air," said Kim Shin-do, a professor at the Environmental Engineering Dept at the University of Seoul.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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