As per a show on September 30th, MBC has found that 30 out of 33 stations on the Orange Line of the subway also have asbestos in them, in addition to many of the stations on the original Green Line. As per a thread on this last year, the problem has not gone away and if any station manager has work performed in the station and you are around, there is the risk you are being exposed to dangerous levels of airborne asbestos and should get away ASAP and stay away. I quit riding last year due to this serious situation. (hat tip to H. Kim)
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17 Comments
As a precaution, one can avoid using stations where work is being performed, but there’s no need to hold your breath and run away if you see a few ceiling tiles missing. Diseases like mesothelioma are caused by long-term direct exposure. Most victims sickened by asbestos are people who have worked with the stuff or lived near factories that manufactured it. On my next visit to Seoul, I won’t be wearing a respirator when I ride the subway.
R. Elgin is reacting to asbestos the way most Koreans react to Mad Cow!
“R. Elgin is reacting to asbestos the way most Koreans react to Mad Cow! ”
… the difference being that asbestos has actually killed a lot of people. And not in the imaginary-hippy-land of Korean protesters.
As for “short-term” exposure… I wouldn’t want to be in that clinical trial.
… the difference being that asbestos has actually killed a lot of people. And not in the imaginary-hippy-land of Korean protesters.
Lupin IV… winky face. Note the winky face!
Seriously, though, has asbestos “killed a lot of people” who didn’t deal with it directly? Like people riding subway cars through stations that still have some old tiles? Elgin not riding the subway because of this threat, is that overkill as Sonagi seems to think? Is Elgin now more likely to die in a crash while riding any of the many taxis he now takes than he would have been to die from minimal exposure to asbestos from riding on a subway through the subway trains?
And until they rule out the Alzheimer’s-Mad Cow connection, I wouldn’t be so sure about how few people have been killed by Mad Cow.
Anyway, factory-farmed beef is a killer. If not in Mad Cow then in bacterial infection. Maybe thousands every year in the US.
People travelling on the newer, deeper lines in Seoul and Busan need to be just as concerned about exposure to Radium gas. Subway industry employees have been campaigning against being exposed to this more natural, but no less dangerous, poison for years.
In the meantime, I recommend new fathers, ageing hippies, hypochondiacs and other life-averse people buy Hello Kitty cotton masks to wear while travelling the subway.
People travelling on the newer, deeper lines in Seoul and Busan need to be just as concerned about exposure to Radium gas.
Do you mean radon (which used to be called radium emanation)? I would like to see some numbers on the levels inside the subway lines, but I guess an enclosed space like a subway train traveling through these tunnels wouldn’t be affected much. But for subway workers who are below ground for much longer periods it would be a much bigger problem. In the United States there are over 20,000 radon-related lung cancer deaths each year and the rates might be similar in Korea.
Working in the subway probably isn’t the best job. There’s danger from asbestos, radon poisoning, rickets and attack by the mole people.
Not to quibble, but actually mesothelioma, which is caused by a type of asbestos that is not used in insulation or other building materials, can be caused by a single exposure to that certain type of asbestos.
On the other hand, diseases linked to chrysotile asbestos exposure, such as asbestosis and lung cancer, have a correlation to length and amount of exposure, as well as a compounding effect with smoking.
(No, I did not get this from Google/Wikipedia, but from work I did back in the ’90s)
And Elgin is, of course, overreacting to the extent of the mad cow stroller brigade, as was pointed out.
I would add at least on worker has died from exposure to asbestos already (in Korea).
Each station is run as per the whim of its manager, thus if this fellow does not care or know (I think they all know about this by this time) they will have work done by people who are not licensed to handle this material and do not know how to remove it safely. As of now, there are no Korean firms licensed to handle asbestos removal, unless something has changed very recently.
As “dogbert” correctly points out, going each day where asbestos has been disturbed and is airborne is not a good idea. “Hello Kitty” masks will not filter this out either. It requires real filtration masks.
I noted that subway authorities said they would shut down Pangbae Station to remove the asbestos there but have never done such and, if they are removing it, are doing so with people milling about. Basically, these people are not trustworthy, thus I just don’t ride any more so I don’t have to worry about it.
If the asbestos doesn’t get you the hwangsa will.
Effectively dealing with asbestos and radon SHOULD be a major priority of the subway unions. But instead what I saw this summer was subway union Mad Cow banners everywhere in City Hall Station. The demonstrations and candlelight vigils were aimed at ousting President Lee, so it’s clear that the unions that were behind the protests have little real concern for the well-being of the people they claim to protect. Good luck, subway employees.
Michael, Is there anything Korea can do about the hwangsa?
Hey User 81, I heard the Korean gov’t has been working with China on the hwangsa but the onus is on the Chinese since it’s their territory. Apparently it’s difficult to stop the desertification and China adds to the problem with its coal plants.
#11,
Unfortunately, it’s cheaper to leave it there, wait to get sued and settle out of court for less than 20 000$.
How do I know? My uncle died of asbestositis.
“Seriously, though, has asbestos “killed a lot of people” who didn’t deal with it directly?”
Taking the subway *is* dealing with it directly. Especially when waiting 15+ minutes for Line 2 to arrive. Hence the suggestion for your volunteering for the study. If the risk is so low, take your off-spring along. Let us know how it goes.
Seriously, Korea is such a health nightmare as it is, why add asbestos (of whatever type) to the mix?
Think about it rationally. If you don’t take the subway, how are you going to get around? By taxi? On foot? Either way, you’ll have a far greater chance of being maimed or killed in traffic than by exposure to asbestos.
Don’t fall prey to mad cow logic.
lupin:
Taking the subway *is* dealing with it directly. Especially when waiting 15+ minutes for Line 2 to arrive. Hence the suggestion for your volunteering for the study. If the risk is so low, take your off-spring along. Let us know how it goes.
Why would they do a study where they take people and specifically expose them “short-term”? Since millions of people ride the subway for consistent periods of time on predictable pathways and we can see what level of disease they have, if any, there is no need for the kind of “if you think it’s so safe, you do it” study you mention.
By living in Seoul and taking the subway everywhere, I’ve already exposed myself to radon and asbestos for short term periods. So have my “off-spring”, so have you, so has dogbertt, so has someguyinkorea, so has Elgin. So has your neighbor. Now we can take any sampling of those millions of people for a study and get to the business of seeing who has the problems related to asbestos and radon.
It’s different for subway workers and construction workers, who are exposed to these things much more. If Elgin were a subway worker I think it’s reasonable for him to quit his job and do something else, but from an actuarial perspective it is foolish to stop riding the subway because of the low threat asbestos has to him.
But I do want to see radon levels at stations. If one of them really does have high levels, waiting every day at that station for extended periods might best be avoided.
Seriously, Korea is such a health nightmare as it is, why add asbestos (of whatever type) to the mix?
Not bad as nightmares go, since life expectancy in South Korea is similar to the U.K. and is longer than in the U.S. or the E.U.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
by bus and taxi. So far it works well except for certain locations.
Labeling concerns over a potential and real problem as being “madcow logic” makes no sense either unless you have access to data and its interpretation that demonstrates the threat is low.
If I can eliminate that risk and still get around, then it is wisdom at work. If you like taking unknown risks, then go for it.
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