8a+Minamata+pg2+ashleigh

__**THE MINAMATA DISEASE**__ The chisso factory first opened in 1908, but the Minamata disease was release of methyl mercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory. This highly toxic chemical was found in shellfish and fish in the minamata bay, which were eaten by the local population, which caused serious symptoms.

The Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome that is caused by severe mercury poisoning. Some of the symptoms include ataxia, which is a sign and symptom consisting of gross lack of co-ordination of muscle movements. Some other symptoms are numbness in the hands and feet, muscle weakness, it can also damage hearing and speech. In some extreme cases it can cause paralysis, which is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups, it can also cause coma and even death.

Over 3,000 victims have been recognized as having the Minamata disease. There are many people that have lost their lives or have had to live with emotional and physical pain caused by this disease.

Ever since the opening of the chisso factory, in 1908, pollution wastewater had damaged the fisheries around minamata. In 1926 and again in 1943, the minamata fishing cooperative had managed to win a small amount of “sympathy money” from the company, but after the outbreak of this disease, the fishing situation was becoming critical. Between the years 1953 and 1957, fishing catches had declined by 91%. The fishing cooperative protested against chisso and angrily forced their way into the factory on the 6th of august and on the 12th of august, demanding compensation.

 The company paid off people who didn’t want them to dump the waste instead of implementing (put into place) an environmentally safe technique of waste removal. The reason why they did this, is because it was a lot cheaper. 8A Minamata pg3 ruth 8a minimata page 1 andrea 8AMinamata 8a Minamata pg5 Rebekah minamta pg6 judy 8a Minamata pg6 Nguyen 8A Minamata Bibliography