Mercury Minamata, Japan

Table 28.10 Mercury Concentrations in Sampies from Minamata, Japan, and from Nearby Areas Devoid of Mercury Poiiution. ...

In the late 1950s the subtle and serious consequences of methyl mercury exposure became evident in Minamata, Japan. Initially, early signs of uncoordinated movement and numbness around the lips and extremities, followed by constriction in visual fields in fishermen and their families, baffled health experts. Developmental effects were clearly evident in infants who exhibited subtle to severe disabilities. This spectrum of adverse effects was finally related to methyl mercury exposure from consumption of contaminated fish. Minamata Bay was contaminated with mercury and methyl mercury from a factory manufacturing the chemical acetaldehyde. Mercury was used in the manufacturing process, which also resulted in both mercury and methyl mercury being discharged into Minamata Bay. The fish in the bay accu-... 

Mercury. In Japan in the 1950s and 1060s, wastes from a chemical and plastics plant containing mercury were discharged into Minamata Bay. The mercury was converted to the readily absorbed methylmercury by bacteria in the aquatic sediments. Consumption of fish and shellfish by the local population resulted in numerous cases of mercury poisoning, or Minamata disease. By 1970, at least... 

Mercury leaves the body mostly through the urine and feces. One of the worst-known cases of mercury poisoning occurred at Minamata, Japan, when methylmercury compounds formed during the manufacture of a paint solvent were discharged into Minamata Bay. Local people who ate a large amount of fish began... 

Mercury (11) is a frequent component of industrial wastewaters, remarkably toxic at concentrations higher than 0.005 mg The World Health Organization (2006) and national environmental agencies recommend a limit of 0.006 mg of inorganic mercury in drinking water. The health hazards due to the toxic effect of mercury at Minamata, Japan, and Iraq are very well known (Bockris, 1997). 

Barrocas P. R. G., Landing W. M., and Procter L. M. (2001) A bacterial biosensor for aquatic mercury(II) speciation and bioavailabihty. Abstracts 6th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Minamata, Japan, 130p. 

Igata a (2001) Minamata Disease Its history, clinical ramifications, measures to deal with it and lessons for the future. Sixth International Conference on mercury as a Global Pollutant. Minamata, Japan, October 2001. 

Alkyl compounds of mercury (RHgX) and other organomercury compounds (i.e., methyl mercury) are strong irritants (eye, mucous membranes and skin), the latter with a direct effect on chromosomes. In fact, Minamata disease is termed after the methyl mercury intoxication incidence observed in the fish meat in Minamata, Japan, which produced neurological damage and mental retardation in newborn babies [42]. 

Mercury poisoning became an issue in the United States in New York City s hat-making industry in the early 1940s when it was noted that many workers in this industry displayed the same types of symptoms exhibited by the citizens of Minamata, Japan. This disease was often referred to as the Mad Hatter s disease. Since mercury nitrate was used in the production of hats, a study was conducted and the study linked the symptoms of workers with the use of mercury nitrate. As a result, the use of this hazardous chemical in the hatmaking industry ceased and a suitable substitute was found. 

Other incidents— the oily, black, carcinogen-laden liquids that heavy rains brought to the ground surface of Love Canal, a community built on a toxic chemical dump mercury dumped from a chemical plant into the estuary at Minamata, Japan, which caused paralysis and mental disorders in thousands of people and death for several hundred and in 1984 the methyl isocyanate leak in Bhopal, India, that killed some 2000 people and injured tens of thousands more— have not helped the negative image of chemistry. 

---