Lessons from Minamata disease
Q
Should methylmercury pollution occur, what action would be effective?
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If the ocean or a river is found to be polluted, it is critical to take immediate steps, including banning fishing and supplying information to local residents. At the same time, the source of pollution should be identified to implement measures to prevent the pollution from spreading. As this may take time, priority must first be given to measures to prevent health damage.
Furthermore, steps need to be taken to restore the polluted environment. As a general rule, it should be the polluter that is liable for the cost of pollution prevention measures, as well as compensation for damage done, the cost of restoring the environment and suchlike. As, however, lives and health once lost, and the environment once polluted, can never be brought back, preventative measures are critical so as not to let any pollution occur.
Q
How did Minamata disease impact the local communities?
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The local communities have been impacted in various ways, including a disrupted social bond between local residents.
Minamata disease not only destroyed people’s health and the environment and brought about economic calamity and anxieties over health, but also impacted the local communities.
As the real picture of the damage came to light, the issue brought about social problems, including an antagonism between the victimized people and the polluting company over responsibilities, and also between the fishermen, victimized people and others over compensation, a situation that gave rise to discrimination and prejudice as well.
Q
Did Minamata disease occur anywhere else other than the Yatsushiro Sea coastal area?
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Niigata Minamata disease (the second Minamata disease) occurred in the Agano River basin of Niigata Prefecture.
In 1965, nine years after the first official report on Minamata disease, a similar disease occurred in the Agano River basin of Niigata Prefecture.
This was caused by methylmercury contained in the wastewater from the Kanose factory of Showa Denko K.K..
These two outbreaks of Minamata disease are considered to be the four largest outbreaks of pollution-related diseases, together with Yokkaichi asthma and Itai-Itai disease.
Q
What is the aim of the "moyai-naoshi" (rebonding) project that is underway in Minamata City?
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To tie back the bond between residents damaged by the occurrence of Minamata disease and its repercussions.
With the passage of a long period of time since the occurrence of Minamata disease, a willingness to engage in dialogue gradually developed among the people that had once been antagonistic to each other.
"Moyai" in the project's name "moyai-naoshi" means to string together one boat to another, the implications therefore being working together for common cause.
Now Minamata City is a selected "model city for the environment" to serve as a sustainable small-community model, characterized by harmony between the environment and the economy. It is just one indication of the City's active endeavor to deliver a sustainable low-carbon society, as a municipality committed to taking a leading role in fighting global warming, challenges for the whole world.
Q
Are there any international efforts being made as a real application of the lessons from Minamata disease?
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The Minamata Convention on Mercury is one such example. This treaty aims to control mercury on a global scale in order to protect the human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds.
The appellation of the "Minamata Convention" implies resolute wishes that the kind of health calamity and environmental destruction that Minamata disease relates to should not be repeated, and the global community's willingness to share the commitment to taking action that the people responsible have in countries faced with similar challenges.
Another reason for the naming of the Minamata Convention was to pass on to the global community the lessons and experiences learned from Minamata disease, and to bring to notice how today's Minamata looks like.