The Environment Ministry has announced it will measure asbestos concentration levels in the air at 360 spots in 140 areas nationwide, for the first such study since 1995.

The study covering all 47 prefectures is to begin this month and continue until the end of March.

The results will be used to formulate steps to prevent the harmful fiber from spreading in the air, the ministry said.

Among the 140 areas are three in which health problems were reported among people living near factories of companies handling asbestos -- Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, and Oji and Ikaruga, both in Nara Prefecture.

Also to be checked are factories, waste disposal facilities and former building sites.

Some areas surveyed in 1995 will be included so changes over the past 10 years can be measured, officials said.

The government stopped conducting asbestos surveys after the 1995 research indicated that concentration levels had fallen far below set standards at 66 spots in 14 prefectures. The decision to resume the surveys is a result of asbestos-linked health problems recently becoming a major social issue.

In another development, the government has begun working on how to secure funding for planned lump sum payments and funeral costs for the families of asbestos victims under a law that may be enacted next year.

The government estimates that it needs to earmark enough money to cover around 6,600 people who died of asbestos-induced mesothelioma in the past 10 years.