Amendments to the Orders and Regulations of the the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law Concerning Asbestos-Containing Wastes

On July 26, 2006, the Ministry of the Environment promulgated amendments to the orders and regulations of the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Law. These amendments are made to ensure proper treatment of asbestos-containing wastes, which are expected to be found in large quantities when dismantling buildings, possibly causing injury to public health and the living environment.

Main amendments are as follows:
1. The following requirements are applied in order to control non-friable asbestos-containing wastes in processes ranging from discharging to land-filling.
- Separate asbestos-containing wastes from other wastes in the process of collection and transportation
- Avoid mixing of asbestos-containing wastes with other wastes when storing them
- No crushing or cutting of asbestos-containing wastes except under limited conditions
- In landfills, cover asbestos-containing wastes with earth

2. Restrictions are placed on the method of disposing asbestos-containing wastes in the intermediate-treatment process
- The disposal methods for asbestos-containing wastes shall be limited to those which can detoxify asbestos-fibers

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