Miscellaneous

One of the worst environmental disasters in Japan occurred in Minamata (a town on Kyushu island in Kumamoto prefecture) when a chemical contaminant poisoned numerous residents; however, in the years since, Minamata has taken steps to reverse its legacy and has become certified as an eco-town. The Environmental Disaster The environmental disaster was the fault of the Chisso Corporation, which opened a chemical plant in Minamata in 1908. For decades, the factory ran without incident. This changed in 1951 when the factory began using a different process to create its products. The untreated wastewater it released into Minamata Bay now contained methyl-mercury. Five years before this was discovered, the first patient — a young girl — presented at the factory hospital with problems walking and speaking and suffering from convulsions. More cases followed shortly. Minamata Disease The neurological disorder the wastewater caused came to be called Minamata disease. Residents were affected because they had eaten fish caught in the bay that had ingested the methyl-mercury from the water. Even though the factory stopped producing acetaldehyde in 1968 (and therefore no longer released methyl-mercury into the water), locals continued suffering from mercury poisoning. This led to symptoms including weakness, paralysis, blindness,…