Dangerous tremolite asbestos has been found at three different locations throughout Tokyo, including a private nursery school, leading officials to believe that there may have been widespread use of this type of asbestos in years past.

According to an article in the Yomiuri Shimbun, tremolite is one of three highly carcinogenic forms of asbestos that were thought to have been absent from Japan, but the recent discovery raises the possibility that tremolite was used in Japan as a building material, even though officials have maintained that it was not.

Earlier this month, it was learned that surveys by municipal governments had found all three types of dangerous asbestos at eight public facilities in Tokyo, Chiba and Niigata.

“When repairing or demolishing a building, it is a legal requirement to check whether the building contains asbestos. However, many inspection companies have excluded tremolite from the checks, believing that there was no need to look for it,” the article points out.

“It is likely that the existence of tremolite has thus been missed in many inspections, with such buildings continuing in use or being demolished without necessary safety precautions being taken–a likelihood that demonstrates the necessity of upgrading inspections,” the article adds.

The tremolite was found on the ceiling of a boiler room at a private nursery school in December 2006, the ceiling of a pump room at a condominium in May 2007, and in the wall and beams of an office building in August 2007. All of the material was of the spray-on variety, which was used as a fire retardant and to strengthen the walls and/or ceilings.

Officials believe that the tremolite was found in these instances because the inspection companies were using the U.S. code of standards for asbestos inspection, which includes identifying all six types of asbestos.

Tremolite is believed to be the most carcinogenic of all asbestos types. Renovations to or demolition of a building containing tremolite asbestos could cause serious health hazards for those exposed to its dust.

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