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	Minamata disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Minamata was even dubbed as Chisso's "castle town", in reference to the capital cities of feudal lords who ruled Japan from the 16th to 19th century.
		The staple food of victims was invariably fish and shellfish from Minamata Bay and that the cats in the local area, who tended to eat scraps from the family table, had died with symptoms similar to those now discovered in humans.
		During the investigation by researchers at Kumamoto University, the causal substance had been identified as a heavy metal and it was widely presumed that the Chisso plant was the source of the contamination.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Minamata_disease (3557 words)

	Minamata, Kumamoto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The area of Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture
		Minamata (水俣市; -shi) is a city located in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.
		It is on the west coast of Kyushu.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Minamata (111 words)

	VII. Rediscovery of the Minamata disease in Niigata
		The citizens of Minamata City began to fear for the future of the city as the company began to decline in importance, and insult was added to injury when the government recognized the company's mercury-laden wastes as the cause of the Minamata disease.
		Minamata City administration personnel went around to the many disease victims in the city to persuade them that they should sign the white paper proxy that required compliance with the conclusions reached by the mediation committee consisting of three specialists appointed by the Ministry of Public Welfare.
		The Minamata Research Group was able to piece together the puzzle from the facts that were already known and new materials that had been brought in, and through this effort was able to compile a report which clarified the Chisso Company's liability in, and responsibility for, the Minamata disease.
	www.unu.edu /unupress/unupbooks/uu35ie/uu35ie0d.htm (5558 words)

	Chapter - 4 Minamata disease
		The Minamata complex, able to rebuild itself through the creativity of its personnel and the strength of its technology, stood in stark contrast to the old zaibatsu-supported chemical companies which, after the war, sought to revive their technological prowess through the purchase of foreign technology from the USA and other countries.
		The fish from Minamata Bay were poisoned to a much greater extent than fish taken from other locations, and all of the wastes from the chemical complex had been discharged into the bay for a very long period of time.
		In Minamata City the greatest concern of the people had turned to a long strike in which the labour union was fighting a Chisso company plan to rationalize operations, but the company was victorious in that it was able to divide the labour union into smaller groups.
	www.unu.edu /unupress/unupbooks/uu35ie/uu35ie0c.htm (5612 words)

	Minamata Disaster
		Finally, in July 1959, researchers from Kumamoto University concluded that organic mercury was the cause of the "Minamata Disease".
		Minamata Bay is a rich fishing and farming village.
		Minamata was known as a fishing town, and the ocean was their main environmental resource.
	www.american.edu /TED/MINAMATA.HTM (2169 words)

	Minamata, Kumamoto - Biocrawler (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		Minamata (水俣市; -shi) is a city located in Kumamoto, Japan.
		As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 30,080 and the density of 184.69 persons per km²;.
		It has been known in connection with an industrial disaster caused by a chronic mercury poisoning spanning decades (1932-1968), leading to the once-mysterious "Minamata disease".
	www.biocrawler.com /encyclopedia/Minamata (190 words)

	General projects
		Letting this be a lesson and warning to the industrial society, Minamata City established the Minamata Prize for the Environment in 1992 in order to play a positive role for preservation and/or restoration of the environment by promoting activities and research concerning conservation, thus contributing not only to Japan but also to the world.
		Based on the experience of Minamata Disease, we found that, once the environment is polluted, it is difficult to restore.
		Minamata citizens hope to foster efforts for conservation and/or restoration of the environment with the Minamata Prize for the Environment, and share fruitful results with people of the world.
	www.minamatacity.jp /eng/Minamata_Prize_info.htm (549 words)

	1973 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts - Michiko Ishimure
		The eldest in the family of three brothers and one sister, MICHIKO grew up in the "low strata of a community which was formed in the process of a village's transformation to a town." She maintained "a brilliant record" in the local primary vocational training school and graduated at 16.
		When she began to publicize the plight of the victims of Minamata Disease and criticized the party for its stand against her activities, she was investigated, accused of being a Trotskyite, and informed that she was allowed to write only for the party organ.
		In the last analysis her concern for the victims of Minamata Disease, for the destruction of the environment by man-made pollutants and man's lack of care, are expressions of this sensitive romantic self which seeks the lost utopia of the past.
	www.rmaf.org.ph /Awardees/Biography/BiographyIshimureMic.htm (4185 words)

	Minamata, timeline of the mercury disaster
		causative agents of Minamata disease are methyl mercury compound extracted from shellfish caught in the bay and taken from sludge from the SNC plant.
		Minamata City is designated one of the areas of the Regional Character Formation Project.
		The 5th Minamata Disease Memorial Service is held with about 1,000 people on the reclaimed land of Minamata Bay, and the director-general of Environment Agency and the president of Chisso participate for the first time.
	www.corrosion-doctors.org /Elements-Toxic/Minamata-2.htm (1211 words)

	Minamata Disease and the Mercury Pollution of the Globe
		Masazumi Harada, M.D., Ph.D. Minamata Disease was discovered for the first time in the world at Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, in 1956 (Minamata Disease Research Group; 1968, Harada M; 1995), and for the next time at Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in 1965 (Tsubaki T and Irukayama K; 1977).
		The cases of organic mercury poisoning that had been known prior to Minamata Disease occurred as the result of the direct poisoning of those who were engaged in organic-mercury handling occupations or those who took it in accidentally (Hunter D et al; 1940, Lundgren KD et al; 1949).
		Tokuomi, sensory disturbance and constriction of the visual field were observed as an example of the typical symptoms of Minamata Disease among 100% of its patients, coordination disturbance among 93.5%, dysarthria among 88.2%, hearing disturbance among 85.3% and tremor among 75.8%.
	www.einap.org /envdis/Minamata.html (2263 words)

	Past Retreats 2000 \| Full Program
		For Minamata City, using this name for the Conference Center demonstrates its determined efforts to ensure that the lessons of the battle against pollution are not lost.
		Minamata City is known both for its incredible natural beauty and for an environmental crisis (from organic mercury poisoning) of tragic proportion that impacted the lives of thousands and threatened the city's economic basis.
		Minamata became, as the Mayor described it, "the worst nightmare of disruption." In the past twenty years, the people of Minamata have moved beyond their differences, working together to gain compensation for the victims while preserving Chisso's economic viability.
	www.mansfieldfdn.org /programs/retreats/past_2000/full_program.htm (3773 words)

	Water Science & Technology 42:7-8 (2000) 139-146 - Y Takizawa - Understanding minamata disease and strategies to ...
		Minamata disease is a neurological disorder caused by methylmercury poisoning which originated from the discharge of wastewater containing methylmercury from chemical plants in Japan.
		Through the compensation law, 2,952 persons have been certified as Minamata disease patients, and a total of approximately 144 billion yen had been paid in compensation by the responsible companies as of March, 1999.
		The Japanese Government, patients and their supporters reached an agreement in 1996, and Minamata disease legal issues were finally resolved, 40 years after the outbreak.
	www.iwaponline.com /wst/04207/wst042070139.htm (251 words)

	UNSW Embryo- Mercury Poisoning Selected References
		In the cerebral cortex, the calcarine cortex was found to be involved in all cases of Minamata disease, particularly along the calcarine fissure.
		Abstract Minamata disease is methyl mercury intoxication from fish contaminated by a chemical factory in Minamata city.
		The characteristics of Minamata disease are discussed and compared to cases of methyl mercury poisoning in other parts of the world.
	embryology.med.unsw.edu.au /Refer/abnorm/mercury_select.htm (423 words)

	Evolution of Our Understanding of Methylmercury as a Health Threat (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		Minamata disease is evidently unique in its origin as it involved the bay's ecosystem.
		Minamata disease was first officially reported on 1 May 1956 to the public health authority of Minamata, Kumamoto prefecture (4).
		From the experience in Minamata, birth control (actually abortion) was advised by the local government to women of child-bearing age who lived in the polluted area and who had hair mercury concentrations of 50 ppm or higher.
	www.ehponline.org /members/1996/Suppl-2/watanabe.html (7721 words)

	Pollution and Waste (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		The 91 are not officially certified as Minamata disease victims, but a government plan instituted last year makes it easier for uncertified victims to seek compensation.
		After 16 years in the courts, the largest group of Minamata victims held a signing ceremony in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture after settling with Chisso Corp. The government helped to broker the compromise.
		The nearly 2000 victims are not officially recognized as Minamata disease patients, but medical examinations earlier this year showed over 95% of the plaintiffs were eligible for payments of 2.6 million yen each, plus 22,000 yen per month in medical expenses.
	home.att.net /~jdurbin/Waste.htm (4160 words)

	Soka Gakkai--NEWS: 1999 Newsletters-Minamata and Okinawa Exhibit Opens in Okinawa (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		The exhibit features 17 photographic panels chronicling the history of Minamata disease, from its outbreak to the current conditions of surviving victims.
		Minamata disease, officially discovered in May 1956, is a debilitating illness of the nervous system caused by an abnormal intake of methyl mercury.
		In the 1950's, a metals foundry in Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture, discharged toxic amounts of methyl mercury into Minamata Bay, contaminating the local fish eaten by Minamata citizens.
	sokagakkai.info /html3/news3/newsletters3/99newsltrs3/n3_991002-l.html (142 words)

	Environmental Law
		According to the original standard established in August 1971, Minamata disease was recognized to induce a number of symptoms in patients, including involuntary movements, convulsions, trembling, and loss of sensation in extremities.
		The report noted that since many of the symptoms of Minamata disease were non-specific, patients having the required exposure history would be evaluated on whether their particular combination of symptoms fell within four specified combinations of symptoms considered to indicate Minamata disease.
		In July, 1983, the Kumamoto District Court, while distinguishing between the scope of illegality of a violation of the Administrative Case Procedure Law and the National Compensation Law, awarded the plaintiffs compensation for mental suffering resulting from the delay, concluding that the delay between the application and the determination of recognition amounted to administrative negligence.
	www.senrei.com /art1.html (5915 words)

	Minamata...references (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		Minamata Disease, (Study Group of Minamata Disease, Kumamoto University ed.), Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, 73-91.
		Minamata Disease, (Study Group of Minamata Disease, Kumamoto University ed.), Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, 93-117.
		Kondo, T. Studies on the course that the causative agent of Minamata disease was formed, especially on the organomercury compound extracted from the acetaldehyde plant in Minamata Factory and organomercury compound contained in the shellfish from Minamata Bay.
	www.gbg.bonet.se /bwf/art/har/refs.html (225 words)

	Kumamoto - Minamata's Poisoned Sea - Hotel Near (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-31)
		In the mid-1950s, fisherfolk living around Minamata, a town in south Kumamoto Prefecture, began suffering from a mysterious disease.
		The first case of what came to be known as Minamata disease was officially diagnosed in 1956, but it took another three years to identify the cause as organic mercury poisoning and it was nearly another decade before Chisso, a local chemical company, stopped pumping their mercury-laden waste into the sea.
		To date, although the government recently declared the bay mercury-free, nearly 2000 people have died of Minamata disease, while around 13,000 have been certified as afflicted and eligible for compensation.
	www.hotelnear.com /619/680/2003g/Japan-Kumamoto-Minamata's_Poisoned_Sea.html (229 words)

	Other Bhopals: Koizumi issues official Minamata apology Archives
		The disease was caused by poisoning from mercury-contaminated waste water being dumped at Chisso's synthetic resin factory in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture.
		Minamata disease has killed and maimed thousands of people, and has led to an unusually high number of birth defects in the area.
		Minamata disease was officially recognized on May 1, 1956, when a local public health center received a report that four patients were suffering from an unexplained encephalopathy, termed merely "a strange disease." The disease was later detected in Niigata Prefecture.
	www.bhopal.net /otherbhopals/archives/2006/05/koizumi_issues.html (708 words)

	Mercury Exposure
		MINAMATA, Japan, Oct. 20 Kyodo - Researchers from around the world ended a five-day conference on mercury pollution on Friday, with Japanese experts set to promote studies on long-term contamination involving small quantities of mercury as in other countries.
		Many people in Minamata and its vicinity died or became disabled from the disease in the 1950s and 1960s.
		The former have been mainly looking into the problems surrounding the victims of Minamata disease, which involves greater levels of mercury, while the latter have examined the effects on human health of lower levels.
	www.mercuryexposure.org /index.php?article_id=208 (571 words)

	Minamata
		Chisso, founded in Minamata in 1908, was using methyl mercury to make acetaldehyde, a material for polyvinyl chloride.
		The company discharged untreated factory waste into Minamata Bay until 1968, when the government recognized the emissions as the cause of the disease.
		The Kumamoto government took steps to catch poisoned fish and purify water in Minamata Bay until 1997, when it declared the water quality to be normal.
	www.vaccinetruth.org /minimata.htm (399 words)

	50th anniv. of Minamata disease's official recognition marked+
		The city of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the official recognition of Minamata mercury-poisoning disease, Japan's most serious pollution-related illness in the postwar period.
		Of 2,955 officially recognized Minamata disease patients in the three prefectures, 2,009 had died as of the end of last March, while more than 3,800 patients are still waiting for official recognition as patients, indicating the extent of the disease is unknown even 50 years later.
		Minamata disease was formally acknowledged on May 1, 1956, when a local public health center received a report about four patients suffering from an unexplained encephalopathy, which was described at the time as "a strange disease."
	www.tmcnet.com /usubmit/-50th-anniv-minamata-diseases-official-recognition-marked-/2006/04/30/1625696.htm (953 words)

	REFILING: FEATURE: Struggle in Minamata still continues prior to 50th anniv.+
		The sufferings of Kaneko and her family show that the tragedy of Minamata disease still continues at the time when it is set to mark the 50th anniversary of its official recognition in May.
		It was once believed that Minamata disease was contagious, stirring discrimination against its victims and their families as well as Minamata citizens as a whole from outside the city.
		The city of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture and the Environment Ministry have set up a special office in Minamata to prepare for a memorial service on May 1 and other related projects, such as symposiums and commemorative publications.
	www.tmcnet.com /usubmit/-refiling-feature-struggle-minamata-still-continues-prior-50th-/2006/02/14/1374393.htm (1560 words)

	Arao, Kumamoto - Encyclopedia, History, Geography and Biography
		Arao (荒尾市;; -shi) is a city located in Kumamoto, Japan.
		As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 56,822 and the density of 994.26 persons per km²;.
		Arao, Kumamoto, External links and Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture.
	www.arikah.net /encyclopedia/Arao,_Kumamoto (92 words)

	Minamata disease documents to be displayed in China Asian Economic News - Find Articles
		Documents related to Minamata mercury poisoning will be shown in early May in China to share awareness of the industrial pollution, Minamata city officials said Thursday.
		Some 40 exhibits, including photographs of patients who had been exposed to the poisoning while in the womb and panels showing the development mechanism of the disease will be displayed at a national institution on the environment in Taihuangdao, Hebei Province, in northeastern China, for three days from Sunday, the officials said.
		The documents are among materials held by a municipal museum on the disease in the southwestern Japan city of Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, the officials said.
	www.findarticles.com /p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_1999_May_3/ai_54562953 (292 words)

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