Water pollution in Japan
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The were a group of man-made diseases all caused by environmental pollution due to improper handling of
industrial waste Industrial waste is the waste produced by industrial activity which includes any material that is rendered useless during a manufacturing process such as that of factories, mills, and mining operations. Types of industrial waste include dirt and ...
s by
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese corporations. The first occurred in 1912, and the other three occurred in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the moniker of 'four' becoming the prominent way to refer to the events, Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease were the same pollution disease spread by the same poison, just in different locations. Due to
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
s,
publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) ...
, and other actions against the corporations responsible for the pollution, as well as the creation of the Environmental Agency in 1971, increased public awareness, and changes in industrial practices, the incidence of these kinds of diseases declined after the 1970s. These cases also set precedents for private tort law and civil law in issues of compensation for technology-related mass damage which continue to have repercussions in legal cases in Japan today.


Itai-itai disease

Itai-itai disease was the name given to the mass cadmium poisoning of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, starting around 1912. The term "''itai-itai'' disease" was coined by localsICETT Itai-itai disease (1998) for the severe pains (Japanese: 痛い ''itai'') people with t ...
first occurred in 1912 within Toyama Prefecture. This disease was given the name "itai-itai" because this was the phrase affected people would frequently cry out; it translates into "it-hurts it-hurts disease".


Cause of itai-itai

The cause of itai-itai disease was determined to be cadmium poisoning in the drinking water from the Jinzū River basin. The source of cadmium was discovered to be from
Mitsui Mining and Smelting Company is one of the largest ''keiretsu'' in Japan and one of the largest corporate groups in the world. The major companies of the group include Mitsui & Co. ( general trading company), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Nippon Paper Industries ...
. Mitsui Mining began to discharge cadmium into the Jinzū River in 1910. The cadmium poisoned the river, thus poisoning locals' source of water. Any person who drank that water or ate food that was grown with the contaminated water, such as rice, would be likely to show signs of itai-itai disease.


Symptoms of itai-itai

The first symptoms were spine and leg pain. However, as the disease progresses symptoms include: *debilitating
pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
* bone fractures from mild traumas or activities (e.g., coughing or walking) *skeletal deformities * anemia *
kidney disorders The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...


Aftermath of itai-itai

Most people with itai-itai disease were confined to bed because walking caused severe pain. Residents of the surrounding area that were harmed by this disease filed a lawsuit against Mitsui Mining & Smelting Company in 1968. Residents won this lawsuit and began to conduct negotiations. Mitsui Mining formally admitted that itai-itai disease was caused by their discharge of cadmium into the Jinzū River. Mitsui Mining was also obliged to pay recovery costs for the land. This meant that they had to ensure the poisoned land was returned to a safe and cultivable state.


Minamata disease

The first report of Minamata disease originated in
Minamata is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū and faces Amakusa islands. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, re-designated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949. As of March 2017, the ...
in Kumamoto Prefecture in the year 1956. Many of the earliest patients became insane from the symptoms and in some cases died within a month of being affected. After an extensive investigation, the Minamata disease was identified as a heavy metal poisoning, specifically methylmercury poisoning, transmitted by the ingestion of contaminated fish from
Minamata Bay Minamata is a small factory town. Minamata Bay is a bay on the west coast of Kyūshū island, located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The bay is part of the larger Shiranui Sea which is sandwiched between the coast of the Kyūshū mainland and the ...
. The
methylmercury Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
inside the contaminated fish attacked the affected patient's central nervous system, which caused a variety of symptoms.


Symptoms of Minamata disease

*numbing in the arms and legs *impairment of balance *fatigue *
ringing in the ears Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...
* tunnel vision * loss of hearing *decrease in communication skills (slurred speech) Most patients exhibited combinations of symptoms and did not show all symptoms.


Chisso Corporation

The cause of this contamination in Minamata bay was then traced back to Chisso Corporation's dumping of
methylmercury Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
into Minamata Bay. Chisso Corporation produced
acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3 CHO, sometimes abbreviated by chemists as MeCHO (Me = methyl). It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the mos ...
using water,
acetylene Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...
, mercury(II) sulfate as a catalyst and
manganese dioxide Manganese dioxide is the inorganic compound with the formula . This blackish or brown solid occurs naturally as the mineral pyrolusite, which is the main ore of manganese and a component of manganese nodules. The principal use for is for dry-cell ...
or since August 1951,
ferric sulfide Iron(III) sulfide, also known as ferric sulfide or sesquisulfide (), is one of the several binary iron sulfides. It is a solid, black powder that degrades at ambient temperature. Reactions () decays at a temperature over 20 °C into iro ...
as a co-catalyst.
Acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3 CHO, sometimes abbreviated by chemists as MeCHO (Me = methyl). It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the mos ...
reacts with
acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, or ethanoic anhydride, is the chemical compound with the formula (CH3CO)2O. Commonly abbreviated Ac2O, it is the simplest isolable anhydride of a carboxylic acid and is widely used as a reagent in organic synthesis. It is a col ...
in order to produce ethylidene diacetate, which is heated to produce vinyl acetate.
Acetaldehyde Acetaldehyde (IUPAC systematic name ethanal) is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3 CHO, sometimes abbreviated by chemists as MeCHO (Me = methyl). It is a colorless liquid or gas, boiling near room temperature. It is one of the mos ...
was also used to produce
acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component ...
by oxidizing acetaldehyde and vinyl chloride, which is polymerized to make PVC; however, the use of ferric sulfide had a downside: methylmercury (or organic mercury) was a by-product in the making of these chemicals due to its use. The methylmercury was then dumped into Minamata Bay as chemical waste. Chisso decided not to stop the use of the mentioned catalysts or the dumping of their byproducts into the bay until 1966. Today, Chisso makes compensation payments to all certified (recognized) patients of Minamata disease. Over 50 hectares of the bay were reclaimed, using the contaminated sludge from the bottom of the bay with a non-contaminated layer of soil on top.


Aftermath of Minamata disease

In 1970, the Japanese Water Pollution Control Act, which states that all factories are required by law to regulate disposal of dangerous chemicals, was enacted. In 1977, the Japanese government took on the task of cleaning Minamata Bay by vacuuming out 1.5 million cubic metres of methylmercury-contaminated sludge from the bottom of the bay and using them to reclaim over 50 hectares of the bay along with non-contaminated soil on top. Then in 1997, after fourteen years and $359 million, the Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture deemed Minamata Bay safe.


Niigata Minamata disease

In 1965, a number of patients in Niigata Prefecture exhibited signs of Minamata disease. Niigata Minamata was caused by
methylmercury Methylmercury (sometimes methyl mercury) is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a ...
poisoning in the Agano River basin. However, this second outbreak of Minamata disease was discovered early on. The degree of this outbreak was minimal compared to that of the first Minamata disease that took place in Kumamoto prefecture. Investigation of the cause of the disease was given to the Niigata University medical department. There were a number of factors that could be the cause of this outbreak. Along the Agano River basin there were several plants that used mercury in production, agricultural chemicals were widely used in the area, and the last possible cause of the outbreak was said to be the cause of an earthquake that took place a year before the disease was discovered in Niigata.


Symptoms of Niigata Minamata disease

As the name implies, Niigata Minamata disease is similar to Minamata disease; they both share the similar symptoms: * numbness in the arms and legs * impairment of balance * fatigue * ringing in the ears * tunnel vision * loss of hearing * decrease in communication skills


Showa Denko

In the spring of 1966, the research team determined the most likely cause to the dumping of methylmercury from Showa Denko Corporation factory. Showa Denko was located upstream on the Agano River and, just like the Chisso corporation, produced methylmercury as a by-product and then dumped it into the Agano river. Much like Chisso corporation, Showa Denko declined all charges that they were at fault for the Niigata Minamata outbreak.


Aftermath of Niigata Minamata disease

After much controversy, Showa Denko was found guilty of negligence and was then forced to pay compensation payments to all those affected by Niigata Minamata disease. In the year that Niigata Minamata was discovered, 26 people were designated disease patients, and five died as a result of the methylmercury poisoning.


Yokkaichi asthma

Yokkaichi is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 310,259 in 142162 households and a population density of 1500 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yokkaichi is located in north-central ...
is a city in the center of Japan in Mie Prefecture; known as the "town of petroleum" as it produces almost a quarter of the total petroleum in Japan. Construction of the first oil refinery in this area first began in 1955 and after construction many respiratory diseases emerged within the city and among neighboring districts.


Cause of Yokkaichi asthma

In the middle of this city was the largest heavy oil-fired power station and refinery in Japan during this time period. Unfortunately, this refinery was not equipped with machines that could lower
sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...
emissions before releasing them into the air. In the early 1960s, respiratory diseases began to emerge in the general population of Yokkaichi and even in some neighboring districts. This increase in respiratory problems was then specified as
Yokkaichi asthma refers to cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, and bronchial asthma in humans and various environmental changes usually attributed to sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions which appeared as smog over t ...
. This form of asthma was prevalent within Yokkaichi—5–10% of inhabitants aged 40 in Yokkaichi were reported to have chronic bronchitis, whereas less than 3% had the same disease in non-polluted areas.


Yokkaichi asthma relief system

To offer support for many of the people affected by disease, a public release system for air pollution was established in 1965. This set forth that all people in the Yokkaichi area who met the following criteria were paid by the program: #Specific diseases such as bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema, and their complications. #In specific areas where the prevalence of that disease has increased. #Three years of residence within the specified area. Today, there are many laws regulating the amount of sulfur dioxide a factory can release into the air. These laws help keep the disaster of Yokkaichi Asthma from happening once again within Japan's borders.


See also

*
Environmental issues in Japan Environmental pollution in Japan has accompanied industrialization since the Meiji period. One of the earliest cases was the copper poisoning caused by drainage from the Ashio Copper Mine in Tochigi Prefecture, beginning as early as 1878. Repeate ...
*
Nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral *Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), or n ...
*
Toroku arsenic disease was a disease resulting from air and water pollution from a refinery at a mine at Toroku, located in Takachiho, Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki, Japan. It emitted arsenic-containing air, resulting in patients with chronic arsenic poisoning prod ...
* Yushō disease An-naka zinc refinery and cadmium pollution, Japan


References

{{Authority control Environmental disasters in Japan Health in Japan Pollution in Japan * Mass poisoning Water pollution in Japan Corporate scandals