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Brilliant capture, by Markus T Lasut, but terrible reminder of the tragedy of Minamata, Japan

China is reporting the most recent lead poisoning scandal due leaked pollutants in the water stream. It is another terrible example of factory bosses forgetting to work with environmental issues and wrecking havoc on their surrounding communities.

Sadly, it reminds me of the tragedy in Minamata, Japan where the community was poisoned by mercury.

The photo of these mecury balls at the Minamata Disease Memorial represents the souls of those sacrificed to the scandal of Japan’s own posioning experience.

China and Scandal of Lead Poisoning

Minamata was a small fishing and farming village off the Western coast of Kyuushuu, Japan. In the 1930′s, the Chisso Corporation began to manufacture acetaldehyde which was used to produce plastics. Waste from the factory spilled into the Minamata Bay and the eventual result of this environmental practise was mercury poisoning of the community.

By 1968, Chisso stopped the production of acetaledyde but by then the toxic effluents had been discharged untreated into the sea for 36 years. The devastating practises left an enduring and fatal legacy on the area and on the Japanese people. It is widely believed that the mercuy sludge at the bottom of the sea bed is not able to be recovered.

Photographing the effects that the poisoning had on the community

Minamata City has built a museum to pass on the lessons to future generations and visitors from around Japan and from overseas.

It is a museum that has collected objects relating to the Minamata disease. One of the hopes is that it generates interest in the problems of pollution and environmental disasters to try and prevent such travesties happening again.

It is a shame that collectively man keeps forgetting to learn from the past! This piece of youtube video explains more about mercury poisoning and the disaster of Minamata.

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