An infrastructure ministry task force called Monday for revising the Building Standard Law to impose an outright ban on the use of construction materials containing asbestos in new buildings.
The recommendation would also require any dangerous material to be removed during renovation or demolition, and that it not be scattered.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, in response to the recommendations, is expected to submit a revision of the Building Standard Law during the Diet session convening in January, ministry officials said.
The current Building Standard Law does not impose an outright ban on the use of asbestos. It merely requires the exclusion of asbestos in insulating materials.
A revision of the Building Standard Law would bring the building code in line with the Industrial Safety and Health Law, which bans the use of asbestos in workplaces as a measure of health protection. The Industrial Safety and Health Law also has a provision governing the dispersion of asbestos fibers.
The intended legal revision would prevent asbestos spraying, the use of synthetic fibers containing asbestos or other forms of asbestos use in the construction of not only workplaces but also dwellings.
When existing buildings are renovated or demolished, material containing asbestos would have to be removed while preventing the cancer-causing material from being released into the air.
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