The second meeting of the conference of the parties to the minamata convention on mercury cop2 is expected to convene from 1923 november 2018, in geneva, switzerland. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Lastly, in italy, mercury in hair of 7yearold children was. With powerful individual vision, magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. Minamata is both a fishing village and a one company industrial city in the kyushu district of japan. Methyl mercury discharged from the factory contaminated fish and shellfish, which in turn. The name comes from minamata bay in kumamoto prefecture where the chisso factory released industrial waste. Download this pdf file journals at the university of arizona. The city of minamata grew along with the expansion of chisso. It was officially discovered in minamata, kumamoto prefecture in 1956, and in 1968 the national government announced that this pollution.
Minamata disease was discovered for the first time in the world at minamata city, kumamoto prefecture, japan, in 1956 minamata disease research group. Other sources of maternal exposure to methyl mercury have included flour made from seed grain treated with methyl mercury which affected at least 6,500 people in iraq and meat from animals raised on. All this was well established by the beginning of the twentieth century. Photos from 1975s minamata by aileen smith and w eugene smith inspired many current mercury researchers. Minamata disease top 10 environmental disasters time.
During 19321968 local residents, especially fisher families, suffered the consequences. The highly toxic compound bio accumulated in fish and shellfish in the bay which, when eaten by the people living around the bay, gave rise to minamata disease. North macedonia brings to 119 the number of parties to the minamata convention on 12 march 2020, the government of north macedonia deposited its instrument of ratification, thereb. A disorder caused by methyl mercury poisoning that was first described in the inhabitants of minamata bay, japan and resulted from their eating fish contaminated with mercury industrial waste. The purpose of this document is to provide information to assist parties in reporting under article 21 of the minamata convention. A documentary about the plight of the victims of minamata disease, which was caused by the ingestion of fish containing abnormal amounts of mercury released into the sea by a fertilizer factory owned by the chisso company. These materials were brought into minamata village and wood and mountain products were shipped from the port. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The minamata fisheries coop agrees to the total removal of the dividing nets in minamata bay at a special general meeting. The cheaper but slower option is to use the private hisatsu orange railway from yatsushiro 1 hr to satsumasendai 90 min, which stops at both shin minamata and old minamata station. The minamata convention has already been signed by 101 parties including the eu and 21 member states and has been ratified by one party the usa. Public consultation on the ratification by the eu of the.
Finalized after four years of negotiations and signed by delegates. Organic mercury discharged with the wastewater from an industrial plant polluted the environment, which in turn contaminated fish and. Supervision office staffs inspects chisso minamata factory on march 18 1974 in minamata. Minamata disease is unique in its mechanism of outbreak. It is also the setting for a historic confrontation. Download premium images you cant get anywhere else. Minamata is located on the coast of japans westernmost island.
The minamata convention, a united nations pact launched thursday, is designed to limit mercury use and emissions internationally. The minamata fishing cooperative had managed to win small payments of sympathy money. Minamata bay is a bay on the west coast of kyushu island, located in kumamoto prefecture, japan. It is the first in a series of independent documentaries that tsuchimoto made of the mercury poisoning incident in minamata, japan. Across the bay is amakusa island, which produced some coal. Minamata disease was caused by eating large quantities of fish and shellfish polluted by methyl mercury discharged into minamata bay. The minamata fisheries coop and chisso sign the document confirming the completion of the removal of the dividing nets. Dec 11, 2018 minamata disease has not been confined to minamata where the source of the mercury was primarily from eating fish caught in the contaminated bay. Minamata bay was heavily polluted in the 1950s and 1960s by wastewater the chisso corporations factory in minamata, particularly by methylmercury. Otherwise, minamata was no different from other villages found throughout the country.
Minamata, a film featuring the minamata disease, a debilitating illness caused by mercury poisoning, premieres at the berlin international film festival. Minamata definition of minamata by medical dictionary. For years, residents of minamata, a town located on kyushu japans most southwesterly island, had. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. It is now 50 years since the most horrific mercury poisoning disaster the world has ever seen took place in minamata, japan. In the area around minamata bay, the research to investigate the cause and the nature of minamata disease was carried out mainly at the beginning of outbreak of minamata disease, and the first fullscale survey to grasp the extent of the health damage was the one on about 110,000 habitants of the area around minamata bay in 1971 after the cause of the minamata disease. The village of minamata, located on the west coast of southern kyushu, was traditionally supported by rice farming and by a cove in the port which allowed the production of salt. In searing photographs and words it chronicles the last few years of the fight by a group of japanese fishing families to stop the poisoning of themselves and their children with toxic mercury by the local chisso chemical plant in the city of minamata. For years, residents of minamata, a town located on kyushu japans most southwesterly island, had observed odd behavior among animals, particularly household cats. It is situated near the southern end of yatsushiro bay. Oct 10, 20 the minamata convention, a united nations pact launched thursday, is designed to limit mercury use and emissions internationally. Find highquality minamata city stock photos and editorial news pictures from getty images.
The secretariat of the minamata convention on mercury. The felines would suddenly convulse and sometimes leap into the sea to their deaths. Minamata is a city in kumamoto on the island of kyushu, japan understand. Minamata convention on mercury the parties to this convention, recognizing that mercury is a chemical of global concern owing to its longrange atmospheric transport, its persistence in the environment once anthropogenically introduced, its ability to. The minamata convention is named after the worlds worst ever mercury pollution incident that took place in the 1950s in minamata bay, japan. Shop for vinyl, cds and more from minamata at the discogs marketplace. Minamata disease, sometimes referred to as chisso minamata disease, is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Media in category minamata, kumamoto the following 79 files are in this category, out of 79 total. Timothy george wrote the 2002 englishlanguage history of minamata disease minamata. The seveso disaster was an industrial accident that occurred around 12. Minamata disease is caused by methylmercury poisoning.
On the basis of previous experience, the entry into. The culprit, chisso corporation the towns largest employer by far did all it could to avoid blame, including. In the area around minamata bay, the research to investigate the cause and the nature of minamata disease was carried out mainly at the beginning of outbreak of minamata disease, and the first fullscale survey to grasp the extent of the health damage was the one on about 110,000 habitants of the area around minamata bay in 1971 after the cause of. During 19321968 local residents, especially fisher families have been suffering from a variety of symptoms.
Methyl mercury discharged from the factory contaminated fish and shellfish, which in turn caused illness in the local inhabitants who consumed them and birth defects in their. Minamata by eugene and aileen smith is an extraordinary book in many ways. The disease is characterized by peripheral sensory loss, tremors, dysarthria, ataxia, and both hearing and visual loss. A company town of the nippon chisso hiryo company, its main products are chemical fertilizer, carbide, and vinyl chloride. Minamata disease and the mercury pollution of the globe. Read more guidance on contaminated sites available in 6 languages the conference of the parties adopted this guidance at its third meeting and encouraged the parties. Second meeting of the conference of the parties to. Minamata syndrome paresthesias and degenerative changes caused by ingestion of fish contaminated by methyl mercury. Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning the name corresponds to the name of the minamata bay in kumamoto prefecture where the disease was first identified. The shiranui sea that caused the first minamata disease i. He knew he wanted to tell it, he knew what he wanted to tell, but he didnt know how to put this in a 2 hours movie as there are some major lengths, especially in. Minamata disease is not a contagious or genetically transmitted disease.
A fishing port, minamata was also the home of nippon chisso hiryo co. Mercury contaminationwhat we have learned since minamata. Mar 22, 2016 the convention prohibits the export and import of mercury except for certain kinds of use. Of the 1422 minamata disease patients in the kumamoto prefecture, 378 had died by the end of 1980. Media in category 1974 in italy the following 24 files are in this category, out of 24 total. Kanjasan to sono sekai is a japanese documentary made in 1971 by noriaki tsuchimoto. Uefa cup 1974 75 juventus fc v afc ajax piet schrijvers, oscar damiani. Minamata is served by shin minamata station on the kyushu shinkansen line from fukuoka 2 hrs, kumamoto 40 min and kagoshima 35 min. Minamata city in southern kumamoto prefecture gained worldwide fame in the 1950s and 1960s through a mercury poisoning disaster, caused by a local factorys discharge of poisonous wastewater into minamata bay thousands of local inhabitants fell victim to the poisoning, and the disease caused by mercury poisoning became globally known as the. Pollution and the struggle for democracy in postwar japan. Minamata byo, sometimes referred to as chisso minamata disease, chisso minamata byo, is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Official designation of minamata village upon nationwide adoption of the village system. Starting in the 1940s and continuing through 1968, a chemical plant in minamata bay released the industrial effluent containing mercuric compounds into the river and bay. The answer comes from a hard lesson we learned over a half century ago involving an environmental disaster at a place called minamata bay, japan.
Tamashiro h, akagi h, arakaki m, futatsuka m, roht lh. Minamatabyo, sometimes referred to as chissominamata disease, chissominamatabyo, is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Study on eu implementation of the minamata convention on mercury u. The bay is part of the larger shiranui sea which is sandwiched between the coast of the kyushu mainland and the offlying islands of kumamoto and nagasaki prefectures. The story of the poisoning of a city, and of the people. Lessons from the mercury disaster at minamata bay, japan. Smith said, photography is a small voice, at best, but sometimesjust sometimesone photograph or a group of them can lure. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. Minamata disease the history and measures chapter 4 moe. Os sintomas incluem disturbios sensoriais nas maos e pes, danos a visao e audicao. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, redesignated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949.
The causes of death in minamata disease were analyzed and compared with those of control subjects. Minamata, city, kumamoto ken prefecture, southeastern kyushu, japan. The bahamas become the 117th party to the minamata convention on 12 february 2020, the government of the bahamas deposited its instrument of accession, thereby be. In 1974, kp installed dividing nets to contain polluted fish inside minamata bay. Minamata disease, disease first identified in 1956 in minamata, japan. As the gulf of mexico oil spill shows little sign of abating, time takes a look back at historys greatest environmental tragedies. Minamata was traditionally a fishing port and has regular searoute connections to amakusa island, the main island of the amakusa. Minamatas disease was recognized as methyl mercury poisoning from industrial wasters. While documenting the maiming effects of mercury poisoning from factory pollution on the residents of the fishing village of minamata 197173, he was brutally beaten.
The convention prohibits the export and import of mercury except for certain kinds of use. The city and the adjacent minamata bay form a relatively closed ecosystem. Polluting wastewater had damaged the fisheries around minamata ever since the opening of the chisso factory in 1908. It resulted in the highest known exposure to 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzopdioxin tcdd in residential populations, which gave rise to numerous scientific studies and standardized. Magnum photos is a photographic cooperative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer members. Minamata disease medical definition merriamwebster. Minamata mercury satellite symposium committee 6th international conference on mercury as a global pollutant icmgp october 15th 20th 2001, minamata, japan minamata disease a history of japanese government andkumamoto prefectural irresponsibility.
Signatory countries must stop the production, export and import of products containing mercury such as. Minamata, minamatashi is a city located in kumamoto prefecture, japan. Cyprus become the 118th party to the minamata convention on 25 february 2020, the government of cyprus deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby beco. The bay is part of the larger shiranui sea which is sandwiched between the coast of the kyushu mainland and the offlying islands of kumamoto and nagasaki prefectures the coastline is rugged, with many inlets and coves which act as. It is on the west coast of kyushu and faces amakusa islands. Subsequent films in the series include the shiranui sea. Minamata disease sometimes referred to as chissominamata disease is a neurological. After world war ii, the production of acetaldehyde boomed. Minamata disease and the mercury pollution of the globe masazumi harada, m.
1164 560 532 1028 1258 892 1604 34 1557 627 825 795 269 469 48 1387 300 193 1455 1565 89 1368 949 480 150 354 1528 1245 1311 604 328 1465 1540 270 1517 1108 273 865 486 605 1090 1095 769 282 303