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Minamata Disease PDF
Minamata Disease PDF
Minamata disease
1908–1955
The Chisso Corporation first opened a
chemical factory in Minamata in 1908.
Initially producing fertilisers, the factory
followed the nationwide expansion of
Japan's chemical industry, branching out
into production of acetylene, acetaldehyde,
acetic acid, vinyl chloride, and octanol,
among others. The Minamata factory
became the most advanced in all of Japan,
both before and after World War II.[6] The
waste products resulting from the
manufacture of these chemicals were
released into Minamata Bay through the
factory wastewater. These pollutants had
an environmental impact. Fisheries were
damaged in terms of reduced catches, and
in response Chisso reached two separate
compensation agreements with the fishery
cooperative in 1926 and 1943.[7]
1956–1959
On April 21, 1956, a five-year-old girl was
examined at the Chisso Corporation's
factory hospital in Minamata, Kumamoto,
a town on the west coast of the southern
island of Kyūshū. The physicians were
puzzled by her symptoms: difficulty
walking, difficulty speaking, and
convulsions. Two days later, her younger
sister also began to exhibit the same
symptoms and she, too, was hospitalised.
The girls' mother informed doctors that
her neighbour's daughter was also
experiencing similar problems. After a
house-to-house investigation, eight further
patients were discovered and hospitalised.
On May 1, the hospital director reported to
the local public health office the discovery
of an "epidemic of an unknown disease of
the central nervous system", marking the
official discovery of Minamata disease.[14]
Identification of mercury
Methylmercury, an organic mercury
compound released in factory wastewater
and the cause of Minamata disease
Compensation of fishermen
and patients, 1959
Wastewater treatment
On October 21, 1959, Chisso was ordered
by the Ministry of International Trade and
Industry to switch back its wastewater
drainage from the Minamata River to
Hyakken Harbour and to speed up the
installation of wastewater treatment
systems at the factory. Chisso installed a
Cyclator purification system on December
19, 1959, and opened it with a special
ceremony. Chisso's president Kiichi
Yoshioka drank a glass of water
supposedly treated through the Cyclator to
demonstrate that it was safe. In fact, the
wastewater from the acetaldehyde plant,
which the company knew still contained
mercury and led to Minamata disease
when fed to cats, was not treated through
the Cyclator at the time. Testimony at a
later Niigata Minamata disease trial
proved that Chisso knew the Cyclator to be
completely ineffective: "The purification
tank was installed as a social solution and
did nothing to remove organic mercury."[24]
1959–1969
The years between the first set of
"sympathy money" agreements in 1959
and the start of the first legal action to be
taken against Chisso in 1969 are often
called the "ten years of silence". In fact,
much activity on the part of the patients
and fishermen took place during this
period, but nothing had a significant
impact on the actions of the company or
the coverage of Minamata in the national
media.
Continued pollution
1969–1973
Official government
recognition
Epidemiology
As of March 2001, 2,265 victims had been
officially certified (1,784 of whom have
died)[2] and over 10,000 people had
received financial compensation from
Chisso,[3] although they were not
recognised as official victims. The issue of
quantifying the impact of Minamata
disease is complicated, as a full
epidemiological study has never been
conducted and patients were recognised
only if they voluntarily applied to a
certification council to seek financial
compensation.[35][36] Many victims of
Minamata disease faced discrimination
and ostracism from the local community if
they came out into the open about their
symptoms. Some people feared the
disease to be contagious, and many local
people were fiercely loyal to Chisso,
depending on the company for their
livelihoods. In this atmosphere, sufferers
were reluctant to come forward and seek
certification. Despite these factors, over
17,000 people have applied to the council
for certification. Also, in recognising an
applicant as a Minamata disease sufferer,
the certification council qualified that
patient to receive financial compensation
from Chisso. For that reason, the council
has always been under immense pressure
to reject claimants and minimise the
financial burden placed on Chisso. Rather
than being a council of medical
recognition, the decisions of the council
were always affected by the economic and
political factors surrounding Minamata
and the Chisso corporation. Furthermore,
compensation of the victims led to
continued strife in the community,
including unfounded accusations that
some of the people who sought
compensation did not actually suffer from
the disease.[37] More properly, the impact
should be called a criminal 'poisoning', not
a clinical 'disease'. These forms of
obfuscation are commonly experienced by
'environmental victims' in many
countries.[38]
Democratizing effects
According to Timothy S. George, the
environmental protests that surrounded
the disease appeared to aid in the
democratization of Japan.[39] When the
first cases were reported and
subsequently suppressed, the rights of the
victims were not recognised, and they
were given no compensation. Instead, the
afflicted were ostracised from their
community due to ignorance about the
disease, as people were afraid that it was
contagious.
Media
Today
See also
Heavy metal poisoning
Minamata Convention on Mercury
Ontario Minamata disease
Mercury in fish
References
1. Stephen J. Withrow, David M. Vail,
Withrow and MacEwen's Small Animal
Clinical Oncology, Elsevier: 2007,
ISBN 0721605583, p. 73-4.
2. Official government figure as of March
2001. See "Minamata Disease: The
History and Measures, ch2"
3. See "Minamata Disease Archives" ,
Frequently asked questions, Question
6
4. Jane Hightower (2008). Diagnosis
Mercury: Money, Politics and Poison,
Island Press, p. 77.
5. "Agreement reached to settle
Minamata suit" , Asahi Shimbun news,
31 March 2010, retrieved 1 April 2010
6. Nabi, Shabnum (2014).
"Methylmercury and Minamata
Disease". Toxic Effects of Mercury.
Springer, New Delhi. pp. 187–199.
doi:10.1007/978-81-322-1922-4_25 .
ISBN 9788132219217.
7. Harada, p15
8. George, pp35-36
9. George, p26
10. Report of the Social Scientific Study
Group on Minamata Disease, In the
Hope of Avoiding Repetition of a
Tragedy of Minamata Disease ,
National Institute for Minamata
Disease, p. 13.
11. Eto et al. (2010)
12. For further information on the
chemistry of the reaction that lead to
the production of methylmercury see
"Information on Mercury" Archived
2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
by Mercury Technology Services,
retrieved around the 24 October 2006
13. Gilhooly, Rob, "Mercury rising: Niigata
struggles to bury its Minamata
ghosts ", Japan Times, 13 June 2015
14. Harada, p10
15. Nicol, C.W., "Minamata: a saga of
suffering and hope ", Japan Times, 7
October 2012, p. 10
16. Harada, pp23-24
17. Harada, pp26-27
18. Harada, p50
19. Harada, p52
20. Harada, pp38-39
21. Ui, Chapter 4 – section IV
22. George, pp60-61
23. See "The Stockholm Appeal" by
Soshisha – The Supporting Center for
Minamata Disease, retrieved 08
January 2011
24. Harada, p56
25. George, pp144-145
26. Harada, pp68-77
27. Harada, p90
28. George, pp174-175
29. George, pp187-190
30. George, pp191-202 (Arbitration Group)
31. George, p205
32. Corporate Responsibility for Minamata
⽔俣病
Disease: Chisso's Illegal Acts (
に対する企業の責任:チッソの不法
⾏為 Minamata-byō ni Tai Suru Kigyō
no Sekinin: Chisso no Fuhō Kōi)
33. George, pp241-249
34. Harada, pp156-157 and George, p208
35. See "Mercury poisoning of thousands
confirmed" by Jonathan Watts, The
Guardian, 16 October 2001, retrieved
24 October 2006.
36. Kawamura, Hiroki (2017). "The relation
between law and technology in Japan:
liability for technology-related mass
damage in the cases of Minamata
disease, asbestos, and the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear disaster".
Contemporary Japan. 30 (1): 3–27.
doi:10.1080/18692729.2018.1423459
.
37. See "Ten Things to Know about
Minamata Disease" Archived 2012-
07-25 at the Wayback Machine by
Soshisha – The Supporting Center for
Minamata Disease
38. Williams, C. (1998) Environmental
Victims: New Risks new Injustice.
London Earthscan.
39. George, Timothy S. (2001). Minamata:
Pollution and the Struggle for
Democracy in Postwar Japan. Harvard
University Asia Center. ISBN 0-674-
00785-9.
40. Record Review magazine vol 2 no 3
August 1978 – Scott Yanow;
Downbeat
(http://www.downbeat.com/default.as
p?
sect=stories&subsect=story_detail&sid
=704 ); liner notes for Toshiko
Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin Big Band LP,
Insights 1976 RCA VICTOR AFL1-2678
STEREO
41. "Shisei Kuwabara – 'Minamata': The
Starting point of the work of the
photojournalist, Shisei Kuwabara ",
KMoPA. (In Japanese, despite the
English title.) Accessed 4 January
2012.
42. Read the thoughts of a photography
magazine editor surrounding the
controversy of the photograph's
withdrawal: "Tomoko Uemura, R.I.P."
by Jim Hughes, The Digital Journalist,
retrieved 24 October 2006.
43. Smith, pp94-95
44. Hirano, Keiji, "Life with Minamata
disease in photos ", Japan Times, 15
November 2012, p. 3
45. "Minamata's latest chapter" , Japan
Times editorial, 3 October 2006,
retrieved 29 October 2006 (free
registration required)
46. Chisso Corporation. "Historical
Overview" . Chisso Corporation official
site. Chisso. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
47. FY2004 and FY2005 financial results.
URL retrieved 2008-03-07.
48. "Memorial service marks Minamata
tragedy's 50th year" , Japan Times, 2
May 2006, retrieved 29 October 2006
(free registration required)
49. Hirano, Keiji, Kyodo News, "Mercury
pact falls short on Minamata ", Japan
Times, 1 March 2012, p. 3.
50. "Advanced welfare should arise from
Minamata" by Takeko Kato, Asahi
Shimbun, 10 May 2006, retrieved 29
October 2006
Further reading
"Minamata Disease: The History and
Measures" , The Ministry of the
Environment, (2002), retrieved 17
January 2007
"Minamata Disease Archives" by the
National Institute for Minamata Disease,
retrieved 29 October 2006
Harada, Masazumi. (1972). Minamata
Disease. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun
Centre & Information Center/Iwanami
Shoten Publishers. ISBN 4-87755-171-9
C3036
George, S. Timothy. (2001). Minamata:
Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy
in Postwar Japan. Harvard University
Press. ISBN 0-674-00785-9
Ui, Jun. (1992). Industrial Pollution in
Japan . United Nations University Press.
ISBN 92-808-0548-7. Chapter 4, section
IV
Smith, W. E. and Smith, A. M. (1975).
Minamata. Chatto & Windus, Ltd.
(London), ISBN 0-7011-2131-9
Eto, K., Marumoto, M. and Takeya, M.
(2010) "The pathology of methylmercury
poisoning (Minamata disease)" ,
retrieved 7 December 2013
Oiwa, Keibo. (2001). Rowing the Eternal
Sea: The Story of a Minamata Fisherman.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 0-
7425-0021-7
Steingraber, Sandra. (2001). Having
Faith: An Ecologist Journey to
Motherhood. Perseus Publishing.
ISBN 0-425-18999-6
Approaches to Water Pollution Control,
Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Allchin, Douglas. The Poisoning of
Minamata
Saito, Hisashi. (2009). Niigata Minamata
Disease: Methyl Mercury Poisoning in
Niigata, Japan. Niigata Nippo.
Walker, Brett. (2010) "Toxic Archipelago:
A History of Industrial Disease in
Japan ." University of Washington Press.
ISBN 0-295-98954-8
External links
Classification ICD-10: T56.1 • D
ICD-9-CM: 985.0