Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
US: South Korea's Toray Chemical Korea Inc has agreed to pay US$2m to settle a criminal complaint alleging attempted theft of a competitor's trade secrets.
The complaint against Toray was filed in the US District Court in Richmond, Virginia. In an accompanying deferred prosecution agreement, Toray has admitted that the allegations are true and has agreed to pay the penalty and take corrective actions. The government has agreed to drop the case after two years if Toray complies with the agreement.
According to court papers, Toray sought to develop a fibre used in protective fabrics, electrical insulation and other products that is similar to a fibre that is manufactured by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Toray tried to hire former DuPont employees as consultants to obtain information about the DuPont product.
Seoul schools report massive asbestos presence
09 June 2011South Korea: Over 85% of educational facilities in the regions of Seoul have been observed to contain asbestos-containing insulation materials. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has been informed that 1669 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the city have asbestos traits with a contamination of 24.7% of the total surface area.
The high schools had the highest level of contamination, around 90% of facilities built with asbestos-containing materials, whereas the 86% of elementary schools and 84% of middle schools were reported to have asbestos. In every case the asbestos was in found in the ceilings of the schools.
Besides these buildings, some open areas have also been reported to have some presence of microscopic asbestos fibres. Inhaling even small amounts of asbestos can cause damage to the lungs and can leads the development of pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs and can lead to death.