A neurologic disorder caused by methyl mercury intoxication; first described in the inhabitants of Minamata Bay, Japan, resulting from their eating fish contaminated with mercury industrial waste. Characterised by peripheral sensory loss, tremors, dysarthria, ataxia, and both hearing and visual loss. (05 Mar 2000)

IDENTIFICATION

Over 3,000 victims have been recognized as having "MinamataDisease". It has taken some of these people over thirty years toreceive compensation for this inconceivable event. In 1993,

nearlyforty years later, the Japanese courts were still resolvingsuitable compensation for the victims. Many people have lost

theirlives, suffered from physical deformities, or have had to live withthe physical and emotional pain of "Minamata Disease". Thissuffering is all a result of the very wrongful and negligent actsof the Chisso Corporation who dumped mercury into the sea

water andpoisoned the people of Japan.

Located on the coast of the Yatsushiro Sea in southwestern Japan.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/tourism/img/map/86.gif

Chisso = nitrogen› Produced fertilizer

1907: Chisso Corp. builds a fertilizer plant in the Minamata.

1925: plant begins dumping untreated wastewater into Minamata Bay› Kills fish› Fisherman Payoffs

http://www.japanfocus.org/images/592-3.jpg

1932: Chisso plant begins to produce acetaldehyde to be used in the production of plastic, perfume and drugs.• Acetaldehyde is

made from acetylene and water with a mercury catalyst.

.http://www-personal.umich.edu/~tobin/Smith2.jpg

Early 1950’s:› Dead fish wash

ashore› Crows fall out of

sky› Suicidal dancing

cats Mercury moves up

the food chain. http://flickr.com/photos/tropicalrips/127535537/

Behaviors witnessed:› Loss of motor control

in hands› Violent tremors› Swaggered walk› Insanity

“Cat-dancing” disease

Nobody knew the cause of the epidemic.› Many hid for fear of

ridicule

http://www.hamline.edu/personal/amurphy01/es110/eswebsite/ProjectsSpring03/ebarker/Minamata%20Web%20Page.htm

1956: Researchers at Chisso Corp. Hospital experiment on cats with wastewater from the Chisso plant.• They warn Chisso corp.

Chisso corp. redirects the flow of wastewater to avoid being caught.› A larger geographical

area contaminated. › Children born with

horrifying deformities.http://www.nimd.go.jp/archives/english/tenji/a_corner/image/hasseimap.gif

• 30-70 tons of methyl mercury was dumped into the Bay

• 10,000 people affected by Minamata disease.– 3,000 died

http://www.physorg.com/news110359851.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Methylmercury exposure in humans is from consumption of fish, marine mammals, and crustaceans

95% of fish-derived methylmercury is absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract and distributed throughout the body › Highest in concentration in

hair

www.mercury.utah.gov/images/health_effects.jpg

characteristic signs and symptoms in Minamata disease.

1. Gait disturbance, loss of balance (ataxia), speech disturbance (Dysarthria)

2. Sight disturbance of peripheral areas in the visual fields (constriction of visual fields)

3. Stereo anesthesia (Disturbance of sensation)4. Muscle weakness, muscle cramp (disturbance of movement)5. Hardness of hearing (hearing disturbance)6. Disturbance of sense of pain, touch or temperature (Disturbance of

sensation)

National institute of Minamata Disease Archives

Mild › Ataxia › Muscle weakness› Narrowed field of

vision › Hearing and speech

damage Severe cases cause

› Insanity › Paralysis› Coma › Death

W. Eugene SmithTomoko Uemura in Her Bath

Minamata, 1972

A significant effect of Minamata is the onset of symptoms similar to those of cerebral palsy

Fetal Minamata Disease› A pregnant mother

ingests toxic fish and the methylmercury concetrates inside the placenta.

› Harms the fetus while the mother is relatively unaffected

http://picasaweb.google.com/jazzyv0504/SAKURA#5065603192708172658

Mercury (Hg) is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. It melts at -38.9oC and boils at 356.6oC.

Mercury conducts electricity, expands uniformly with temperature and easily forms alloys with other metals (called amalgams).› For these reasons, it is

used in many products found in homes and schools.

Mercury exists in three oxidation states:› Hg0 (elemental

mercury). › Hg2

2+ (mercurous).› Hg2+ (mercuric).

Mercurous and mercuric form numerous inorganic and organic chemical compounds.› Organic forms of

mercury, especially methyl mercury, CH3Hg(II)X, where “X” is a ligand (typically Cl- or OH-) are the most toxic forms.

We use its unique properties to conduct electricity, measure temperature and pressure, act as a biocide, preservative and disinfectant and catalyze reactions.› It is the use of mercury in catalysis that

contributed to the events in Minamata. Other uses include batteries, pesticides,

fungicides, dyes and pigments, and the scientific apparati.

Upwards of 70% of the mercury in the environment comes from anthropogenic sources, including:› Metal processing, waste

incineration, and coal-powered plants.

Natural sources include volcanoes, natural mercury deposits, and volatilization from the ocean.

Estimates are that human sources have nearly doubled or tripled the amount of mercury in the atmosphere.

Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to industrialcrises. However, industrial accidents such as Bhopal are notjust an Indian or even a Third World problem but are industrialdisasters waiting to happen , whether they are in the form of"mini-Bhopals", smaller industrial accidents that occur withdisturbing frequency in chemical plants in both developed anddeveloping countries, and "slow-motion Bhopals", unseen chronicpoisoning from industrial pollution that causes irreversiblepain, suffering, and death (Weir, pp. xi-xii). These are the keyissues we face in a world where toxins are used and developedwithout fully knowing the harm that can come from their use orabuse.

Exposure to MIC has resulted in damage to the eyes and lungs and has caused respiratory ailments such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, gastrointestinal problems like hyperacidity and chronic gastritis, ophthalmic problems like chronic conjunctivitis and early cataracts, vision problems, neurological disorders such as memory and motor skills, psychiatric problems of various types including varying grades of anxiety and depression, musculoskeletal problems and gynecological problems among the victims. It is estimated that children born in Bhopal after the disaster face twice the risk of dying as do children elsewhere, partly because parents cannot care for them adequately. Surprisingly enough, despite the serious health problems and the deaths that have occurred, Union Carbide claims that the MIC is merely a "mild throat and ear irritant" (Lancet, "Round..." p.952).

According to many, Bhopal is the site of the greatest industrialdisaster in history. On the night of December 23, 1984, adangerous chemical reaction occurred in the Union Carbidefactory when a large amount of water got into the MIC storagetank # 610. The leak was first detected by workers about 11:30p.m. when their eyes began to tear and burn. They informed theirsupervisor who failed to take action until it was too late. Inthat time, a large amount, about 40 tons of Methyl Isocyanate(MIC), poured out of the tank for nearly two hours and escapedinto the air, spreading within eight kilometers downwind, overthe city of nearly 900,000. Thousands of people were killed(estimates ranging as high as 4,000) in their sleep or as theyfled in terror, and hundreds of thousands remain injured oraffected (estimates range as high as 400,000) to this day. Themost seriously affected areas were the densely populated shantytowns immediately surrounding the plant -- Jayaprakash Nagar,Kazi Camp, Chola Kenchi, and the Railway Colony. The victimswere almost entirely the poorest members of the population.

In the early morning of April 26, 1986, workers at theChernobyl nuclear power plant, located twenty miles north ofChernobyl, Ukraine, U.S.S.R., began shutting down safety andcooling systems in order to run a turbine experiment to test anemergency turbine shutdown scenario. The shutdown of thesesystems inadvertently caused the reactor of the plant tooverheat, resulting in an explosion which tore the roofcompletely off of the plant's reactor four. The explosionignited fires in various parts of the plant and sent a hugeradioactive cloud into the atmosphere. This radioactive clouddrifted over much of Europe, dumping large amounts of radioactivenuclides onto the Ukraine and most European countries. TheChernobyl explosion quickly became the worst nuclear poweraccident in history. The immediate effect of the blast was 31dead from radiation poisoning, with a still unknown number ofdeaths that may be caused by long-term radiation sickness. Theaccident also caused unquantifiable economic losses for theU.S.S.R. and Europe, and weakened both the Soviet government andthe global nuclear power industry.

Although reports about a possible Russian nuclear disasterbegan to trickle out in Western newspapers, the Russians deniedthat any such explosion occurred. However, the Soviets hadquickly sprung into action immediately following the explosion. Soviet firefighters using military helicopters finally managed toextinguish the blaze in reactor four by dumping between 5,000 and6,000 tons of boron, lead and other materials onto the reactorcore. Twelve days after the accident, the final fire wasextinguished. In addition to fighting the blaze, the Russiansbegan evacuating villages within close proximity to Chernobylwithin 36 hours after the blast, including the entire town ofPripyat, the city closest to the Chernobyl plant. According toZhores Medvedev, the total number of towns and villages

evacuatedwas 186 (2 towns and 184 villages), some as far away as 80kmwest, north and north-west of the reactor site.

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