Or that center of marine commerce Minamata Village...
Mercury poisoning of thousands confirmed
Thirty years on, the victims of Japan's worst case of industrial pollution are getting support from scientists and the courts - but not the state
Jonathan Watts in Tokyo
The Guardian, Monday 15 October 2001 22.31 EDT
For Yasuko Tanaka, it started when the village cats turned into demons. One year, they were sleepy pets; the next, they were hyperactive monsters - screeching, scratching and jumping around as if possessed.
That was when she drew the connection between Japan's worst case of industrial pollution in nearby Minamata and the splitting headaches, tunnel vision and shaking hands that she and several other villagers had been suffering.
Yesterday, more than 30 years later, researchers presented evidence that the mercury poisoning of Minamata bay in the 50s and 60s lasted longer, spread further and affected tens of thousands more people than previously believed.
The study by doctors at Kumamoto University could cost the Japanese government billions of yen (millions of pounds) as thousands of claimants seek recognition as having Minamata Disease - the nerve disorder caused by eating seafood from the polluted bay or nearby waters....
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/16/japan.jonathanwatts
Minamata (and its effect of the local fishing industry) may be news to you, but it is firmly embedded in the consciousness of the people of Japan.
I can't tell you how disgusting is your attempt to minimize consequences of the massive and ongoing pollution off the coast of Fukushima. It's one thing to argue that meltdowns are infrequent, it is another thing entirely to pretend everything is honky-dorey for those whose lives have been destroyed once that supposedly rare event occurs.
= new reply since forum marked as read
