8c+Minamata+project+caitlin

 The poisoning of Minamata bay!  

What was the disaster? When was it? Where was it? Minamata is located on the Western coast of Kyushu, Japans southernmost island. It was traditionally supported by rice farming and by a cove in the port which allowed the production of salt. In the 1932- in Minamata, Japan- the Chisso Corporation began to manufacture acetaldehyde; used to produce plastic. As the production went on Mercury began to fall into Minamata bay, and the company used **mercury** sulfate. Decades later, the heavy metal became incorporated into methyl mercury. This got into the fish from the bay, which the townspeople ate. This is where the Minamata disease began. The spill stared from 1932 and continued to 1968 when this production method was discontinued

After world war II (around 1952), the production of acetaldehyde began to boom. So did the local economy, most residents welcomed their improved lifestyles. About the same fish started to begin to swim into the bay. Chisso continued (as it had since 1925) to pay indemnity to the fishermen for possible damage to their fishing waters. About the same time cats began to exhibit bizarre behavior- jumping into the sea the people referred to thus as ‘cat suicides’. In the early 1950’s similar behavior became evident in humans without much notice. It first began with numbness in the lips and limbs. Then people would stumble whilst walking, they wouldn’t be able to read, couldn’t button their buttons, trouble hearing or swallowing, tremble uncontrollably or slur their words.  Physiological affects also became apparent; successive loss of motor control, which sometimes resulted in sometime partly paralyzed and contorted bodies. Other people crazed danced or said words that weren’t really words as their health became worse. Babies also began to be born with the disease; they were born with cerebral palsy (impaired neurological development and seizures). It was 1956 when the epidemic broke out; there was a lot of confusion and fear. People didn’t know what was causing the disease. In the end of 1956 epidemiological and medical researchers identified the disease as heavy metal poisoning caused by eating fish and shellfish from Minamata bay. In an epidemiologic sense, Chisso’s sewage was the source or ‘cause’ of the problems.

Impact on environment and the people!

Describe the impact the disaster had on the environment and people. The Minamata disease had impacts on both the environment and people. Environment- when the Mercury leaked it destroyed the bay. It polluted the water. It destroyed the wildlife. The fish would also be poisoned, by the water that they swim in. they would also eat other fellow sea-life that came from the bay. It contaminated them; the water could never be clean again. The bay will always be plagued by the Mercury that the Chisso Corporation- maybe inadvertently- put in there.

People- the people- from the Minamata bay- got sick, mentally and physically. Almost all of them ate the contaminated fish from the bay. At first it just started. But in the end almost 100 patients were diagnosed with the disease, 20 of them died. People crazed danced and made up words. People became crippled and paralyzed. Babies born with it had impaired neurological development. The city has diminished in size now almost 70% of what it used to be. The blame! 

How did it happen? Who or what caused the disaster? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">When the Chisso Corp. started manufacturing acetaldehyde, mercury started pouring into the bay. Chisso’s sewage is the ‘cause’ to the Minamata disease. Chisso Corporation started manufacturing acetaldehyde in 1932; it was used to produce plastics. When business was booming Mercury began spilling into the bay. The mercury was one of the ingredients needed to produce acetaldehyde. The corporation had special waste water routes that led straight to the Minamata bay. Decades later the heavy metal became incorporated into methyl mercury. Methyl Mercury concentrates in the neural tissues, thus causing a disease of the brain.

The blame Minamata disease can be split two ways; one ways, you could blame the mercury as it contaminated the water which contaminated the fish. But who put the mercury in there in the first place, Chisso Corporation did. So the larger blame goes to the Chisso Corporation.

<span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; color: red; font-size: 24pt; msoansilanguage: EN-US;">Solution to the problem! <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: red; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">What has been done to fix the problem? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">It was 1956 when the reason for the disease was discovered, nearly 25 years after it began. Now Mercury permeates residue of the bay, where fishing is prohibited. There is no cure to the disease yet, even though scientists are working hard to find one. The government has put in place laws that prohibit fishing in waters that are contaminated by Mercury.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; color: red; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">What was the best solution to the problem? <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">It was probably the best solution. But it was also there only. They haven’t found a cure yet. So the only thing they could do probably was to close off the areas where the water is contaminated, and also make fishing prohibited. So the fish people eat won’t poison them. The government took the right action, but it was the only action they could take for the moment.