Niigata Minamata disease
Classifications and external resources

The crippled hand of a Minamata disease victim
ICD-10	T56.1
ICD-9	985.0
MedlinePlus	001651

Main article: Minamata disease

Niigata Minamata disease (新潟水俣病, Niigata Minamata-byō^?) is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Identical in symptoms to the original outbreak of Minamata disease in Kumamoto Prefecture, the second outbreak in Niigata Prefecture was confirmed with the same name in 1965. The disease was caused by severe mercury poisoning, the source of which was methyl mercury released in the wastewater from the Showa Electrical Company's chemical plant in Kanose village. This highly toxic compound was released untreated into the Agano River where it bioaccumulated up the food chain, contaminating fish which when eaten by local people caused symotoms including ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. Image File history File links Tomokos_hand. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... MedlinePlus (medlineplus. ... Minamata disease ), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease ), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. ... Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the central and peripheral nervous systems. ... Mercury poisoning, also known as mercuralism, is the phenomenon of toxication by contact with mercury. ... Minamata disease ), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease ), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. ... Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県; Kumamoto-ken) is located on Kyushu Island, Japan. ... Niigata Prefecture ) is located on Honshu island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Mercury poisoning, also known as mercuralism, is the phenomenon of toxication by contact with mercury. ... Methyl Mercury is a highly toxic and bioaccumulative organic compound. ... Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. ... Shōwa Denkō K. K. (昭和電工) is a Japanese chemical company. ... Kanose (鹿瀬町; -machi) is a town located in Higashikanbara District, Niigata, Japan. ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Agano River (阿賀野川, Aganogawa) is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. ... To bioaccumulate literally means to accumulate in a biological system. ... Ataxia (from Greek ataxiā, meaning failure to put in order) is unsteady and clumsy motion of the limbs or trunk due to a failure of the gross coordination of muscle movements. ... Paresthesia (paraesthesia in British) is a sensation of tingling, pricking, or numbness of the skin with no apparent physical cause, more generally known as the feeling of pins and needles. ... Muscle weakness (or lack of strength) is a general term used during a diagnosis before the etiology can be identified. ... For the same phenomenon in photography see Angle of view. ...

690 people from the Agano River basin have been certified as patients of Niigata Minamata disease.^[1] The Agano River (阿賀野川, Aganogawa) is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. ...

Since the Niigata outbreak was the second recorded in Japan and occurred in the Lower Agano River Basin, it is sometimes called Second Minamata disease (第二水俣病, Dai-ni Minamata-byō^?) or Agano River Organic Mercury Poisoning (阿賀野川有機水銀中毒, Agano-gawa Yūki-suigin Chūdoku^?). It is one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan. The Agano River (阿賀野川, Aganogawa) is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. ... The Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan (四大公害病, yondaikōgaibyō) are Minamata disease, Second Minamata disease (also called Niigata-Minamata disease); Yokkaichi Asthma; and Itai-itai disease. ...

History

Discovery

The second outbreak of Minamata disease in Niigata Prefecture was discovered in a very similar way to the original outbreak in Kumamoto Prefecture. From the autumn of 1964 to the spring of 1965, cats living along the banks of the Agano River had been seen to go mad and die: "...one cat ran into a small clay cooking stove containing burning charcoal. With the pupils of its eyes dilated, salivating, convulsing and uttering a strange cry, the cat breathed its last breath". These strange symptoms eventually began to appear in people too. Professor Tadao Tsubaki of Niigata University examined two patients in April and May 1965 and suspected Minamata disease. One patient's hair was found to have a mercury level of 390 ppm. On 31 May he reported an outbreak of organic mercury poisoning in the Agano River basin to the prefectural government and made his findings public on 12 June.^[2] Minamata disease ), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease ), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. ... Niigata Prefecture ) is located on Honshu island on the coast of the Sea of Japan. ... Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県; Kumamoto-ken) is located on Kyushu Island, Japan. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... The Agano River (阿賀野川, Aganogawa) is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. ... Niigata University is a national university in Niigata, Japan, founded in 1949. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... PPM or ppm may mean: parts per million, a measure of concentration pages per minute, a measure of speed often used to market printers or photocopiers portable pixmap, a graphics file format peak programme meter, a type of audio level meter, called peak meter Prediction by Partial Matching, a compression... May 31 is the 151st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (152nd in leap years), with 214 days remaining. ... Organic may refer to: Look up organic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mercury poisoning, also known as mercuralism, is the phenomenon of toxication by contact with mercury. ... The Agano River (阿賀野川, Aganogawa) is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ...

Investigation

Throughout 1965 and 1966 researchers from the Kumamoto University Research Group (that had been set up to investigate the original outbreak) and Dr. Hajime Hosokawa (the former Chisso hospital director) brought their significant experience from Minamata and applied it to the Niigata outbreak. Many lessons were learned from Minamata and the investigation into the cause of the outbreak proceeded much more smoothly than it had in Minamata. The prefectural government, Niigata University, citizen's organisations and local people all worked together to uncover the cause. In March 1966 it was reported that factory plant wastewater was suspected as the source of pollution and in September the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it had discovered methyl mercury in moss at the outlet of the Showa Denko factory in Kanose village.^[2] 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Kumamoto University is in Kumamoto, Japan. ... Hajime Hosokawa , 23 September 1901 - 13 October 1970) was director of the company hospital attached to the Chisso corporations chemical factory in Minamata, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. ... Chisso Corporation ) is a Japanese chemical company. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. ... The Ministry of Health and Welfare is a branch of the government of South Korea. ... Methyl Mercury is a highly toxic and bioaccumulative organic compound. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1-10 cm tall, occasionally more. ... Shōwa Denkō K. K. (昭和電工) is a Japanese chemical company. ... Kanose (鹿瀬町; -machi) is a town located in Higashikanbara District, Niigata, Japan. ...

Response of Showa Denko

Showa Denko responded to the outbreak of Niigata Minamata Disease in a similar way that Chisso had responded in Minamata: by attempting to discredit the researchers while proposing their own theory. The company issued information leaflets that rejected their wastewater as the cause of the disease and suggested that the cause might have been an "agricultural chemical run-off" that entered the river after the 1964 Niigata earthquake. Chisso Corporation ) is a Japanese chemical company. ... Minamata (水俣市; -shi) is a city located in Kumamoto, Japan. ...

Patients' lawsuit

Unlike their counterparts in Minamata, the victims of Showa Denko's pollution lived a considerable distance from the factory and had no particular link to the company. As a result the local community was much more supportive of patients' groups and a lawsuit was filed against the company in March 1968. The Niigata lawsuit was filed only three years after the outbreak had been made public in 1965. In contrast the first lawsuit filed in Minamata happened in 1969, thirteen years after the original outbreak was discovered. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

On 26 September 1968, the government announced its official conclusion as to the cause of Niigata Minamata disease. The report said that although "the circumstances of the poisoning are extremely complex, and they are difficult to reproduce", the mercury had probably been discharged from the Kanose plant over a long period of time. However the report did not rule out other causes and Showa Denko's president Masao Yasunishi insisted that the company was not the cause of the outbreak.^[3] September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

The Niigata lawsuit was ultimately successful and on 29 September 1971 the court found Showa Denko guilty of neglegence. Families of deceased and congenital patients received JPY10 million (USD28,600), surviving patients were awarded between JPY1 million and JPY10 million depending on symptoms, JPY400,000 (USD1,145) to those contaminated by mercury and JPY300,000 (USD858) was awarded to pregnant women who had been told to have abortions due to the danger posed to their unborn children.^[4] September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ...

A family-member of the deceased patient testified in court, "My father was crazed like a wild beast and then died—agonized, in pain... like a dog."

The events in Niigata catalysed a change in response to the original Minamata incident. The scientific research carried out in Niigata forced a re-examination of that done in Minamata and the decision of Niigata patients to sue the polluting company allowed the same response to be considered in Minamata. Masazumi Harada has said that "It may sound strange, but if this second Minamata disease had not broken out, the medical and social progress achieved by now in Kumamoto... would have been impossible."^[5] Masazumi Harada ) is a Japanese doctor and medical researcher. ...

Minamata disease ), sometimes referred to as Chisso-Minamata disease ), is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. ... The following is a timeline of key events related to Minamata disease: Category: ... The Minamata disease compensation agreements of 1959 were agreed between the polluting Chisso company and representative groups of fishermen and Minamata disease patients who had been affected by mercury pollution. ...

See also

• Mercury poisoning

Mercury poisoning, also known as mercuralism, is the phenomenon of toxication by contact with mercury. ...

References

1. ^ "Minamata Disease: The History and Measures", The Ministry of the Environment, 2002, ch2
2. ^ ^{a b} Masazumi, Harada. (1972). Minamata Disease. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Centre & Information Center/Iwanami Shoten Publishers. ISBN 4-87755-171-9 C3036. pp86-91
3. ^ George, Timothy S. (2001). Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 0-674-00785-9. p187
4. ^ George, Timothy S. (2001). Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 0-674-00785-9. pp246-247
5. ^ Masazumi, Harada. (1972). Minamata Disease. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Centre & Information Center/Iwanami Shoten Publishers. ISBN 4-87755-171-9 C3036. p90