May 31st, 2007

According to recent figures that have been released the death rate among residents that live near to the former Kubota plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture is abnormally high. The reports indicate that the asbestos related death rate of residents living in the area near to the former Kanzaki factory is around sixty-eight times higher than the national average.

The former Kubota plant handled asbestos, and for a number of years authorities have been concerned about the health of people that worked at the plant as well as the health of residents living in that immediate area. Asbestos is a substance that can result in scarring of the lungs, respiratory problems, and a form of cancer known as mesothelioma.

The government report releasing these figures was released earlier in the week, and as part of the survey over forty residents that lives in the area between 1955 and 1974 were examined. The residents that were examined died of asbestos related cancer between 2002 and 2004.

Death rates from asbestos related cancer in the city were indicated as being up to fourteen times higher than the national average, and in the immediate area of the former plant up to sixty-eight times the national average.