UK: Land Rover is test-driving a special type of wallboard in an attempt to improve its sustainability. "We are testing phase-change wallboard at our dealer training centre. It moves from solid to liquid and absorbs and releases heat," said Fran Leedham, head of sustainability at Jaguar Land Rover.

South 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.

UK: The Hub, a building in Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, has been granted the highest environmental standards rating due to its high levels of insulation and other elements of its design. The building, built on behalf of Teesdale Community Resources was awarded an 'excellent' rating with outstanding credits by the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).

As well as extensive cavity wall insulation, the Hub features a whole host of other sustainable features, including a biomass boiler and an on-site water treatment bio-digester/reed bed, which eliminates the need for external waste connections. It also has a grass roof and a curved glass section to maximise the amount of natural daylight that reaches its concourse.

US: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had imposed a penalty of US$1.2m on Cicero-based AMD Industries, because it failed to protect its workers effectively from loose asbestos fibres during a 2010 abatement process.

The Assistant Secretary of Labour for Occupational Safety and Health Dr David Michaels notified that the asbestos exposure to humans can be deadly and blamed AMD for negligence. The company was aware of its lethal effects but had failed to offer the most basic safety precautions. Further, he accused the company of not providing efficient respirators or even any warnings to the workers about the health disorders that could be encountered. The material removed at the site was particularly hazardous because the material removed was up to 50% asbestos.