8a+Minamata+pg6+Nguyen

__ Minamata Chemical Disaster __ In 1908, a factory of the name Chisso was established in a small town; Kumamoto Japan. The Chisso cooperation was once a fertilizer and a carbicle company. Chisso means nitrogen, fertilizer contains nitrogen. When a new technology was invented, the Chisso Company decided to change to produce plastic, medicine and perfume. These products require a chemical called acetaldehyde in 1932. Acetaldehyde has mercury in this chemical to produce products.

In 1958, the Chisso Company had inappropriately discharged waste material containing mercury. This waste was dumped into the Minamata Bay; estimated around 27 tonnes of methyl mercury. The region where the Minamata Bay was located is where most farmers and fisherman live. The fishermen and villagers who ate the fish from the bay had developed a strange disease. They had gotten Mercury poisoning from the waste of the Chisso corporation. The discharge of the waste materials was done in cheap way that it affected the environment and the people around them. The company did this without hesitation and neglect.

To prevent chemical disasters from happening in the future, the Chisso Company should locate their company at an area where there is not many people living. Another way is, they can store chemicals in safety jars and store it at a low temperature. 8AMinamata8a minimata page 1 andrea8a Minamata pg2 ashleigh8A Minamata pg3 ruth8a Minamata pg5 Rebekahminamta pg6 judy8a question 4 madi8A Minamata Bibliography