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How did it happen? Who or what caused the disaster? The Chisso Corporation opened its chemical factory in 1908 and soon became the most advance in all Japan. It first started the acetaldehyde production in 1932 which lead to the release of organic mercury compound into Minamata bay. The Chisso factory’s own investigations found that their wastewater contained many heavy metals including lead, mercury, manganese, arsenic, selenium, thallium and copper. The substance that made people ill was the methyl mercury. The Mercury was released into the sea, contaminating the fish and consumed by the humans causing them to get the disease.

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