The Minamata Disaster | The town that was poisoned

00:04:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tAX1lKLkTk

Sintesi

TLDRThe video addresses the Minamata disaster, a catastrophic event in the small fishing town of Minamata, Japan. Starting in the mid-1950s, residents and animals, particularly cats, began displaying strange symptoms such as tremors, vision problems, and abnormal behavior. Later identified as mercury poisoning, the cause was traced back to the Chiso Corporation, which had dumped significant quantities of mercury compounds into the bay, contaminating the fish which were a staple in the town’s diet. This led to severe health issues and deformities among residents, with over 2,000 people dying and many more suffering. Despite initial denial, Chiso and the Japanese government eventually took responsibility, with the latter compensating victims and declaring the bay safe in 1997. Today, Minamata has transformed itself into an eco-town, striving to overcome its past and focus on sustainability.

Punti di forza

  • 🌊 Minamata faced a severe mercury poisoning disaster in the mid-1950s.
  • 🐟 Contamination was due to the Chiso Corporation’s dumping of mercury into the bay.
  • 👩‍👧‍👦 Thousands affected, with over 2,000 deaths and numerous lifelong health issues.
  • 🏭 Chiso initially denied wrongdoing, continuing operations until 1968.
  • 🛑 The bay was declared safe in 1997 after extensive cleanup efforts.
  • 🌐 Minamata has transformed into an environmental town focusing on sustainability.
  • 💔 The disaster led to severe deformities and developmental issues in newborns.
  • 🏢 The Japanese government paid significant compensations to affected individuals.
  • 📅 A memorial service in 2006 marked 50 years since the disease’s official discovery.
  • 🔬 Minamata's journey highlights the critical need for environmental responsibility.

Linea temporale

  • 00:00:00 - 00:04:34

    Minamata, a small fishing town in Japan, became notorious for a severe environmental disaster known as the Minamata disease. In the mid-1950s, residents noticed abnormal behavior in cats, which progressed to human symptoms of mercury poisoning, such as numbness, vision problems, headaches, and tremors. Researchers linked these symptoms to mercury dumped into Minamata Bay by the Chisso Corporation, which continued until 1968. Over 2,000 people died, and many suffered lifelong effects. Although Chisso eventually compensated victims, legal battles persisted. Today, Minamata focuses on environmental goals, hosting memorials like the one in 2006 to remember its tragic past.

Mappa mentale

Mind Map

Domande frequenti

  • What is the Minamata disaster?

    The Minamata disaster refers to a case of severe mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan, due to industrial waste from the Chiso Corporation.

  • How were people in Minamata affected by the mercury poisoning?

    People suffered from numbness, vision problems, uncontrollable tremors, developmental disabilities, and some were born with severe deformities.

  • What caused the Minamata disease?

    High levels of mercury poisoning in the fish, attributed to waste dumping from the Chiso Corporation's petrochemical plant.

  • When was the mercury poisoning discovered in Minamata?

    The mercury cause was identified in 1959.

  • How many people were affected by the Minamata disaster?

    Over 2,000 people died and thousands more suffered lifelong damage due to mercury poisoning.

  • When did Minamata become an eco-town?

    After recovering from the disaster, Minamata focused on becoming an environmental city.

  • How did Chiso Corporation respond to the allegations?

    The company initially denied all allegations and continued its operations until 1968.

  • How has the Japanese government compensated the victims?

    The government paid 71 million yen in damages to Minamata disease victims.

  • When was Minamata Bay declared safe?

    Minamata Bay was declared safe on July 29, 1997.

  • What is the significance of May 1, 2006, in Minamata?

    A memorial service was held, marking 50 years since the disease's official discovery.

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Scorrimento automatico:
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    [Music]
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    on the coast of the shiranoi sea
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    in japan lies a small fishing town of
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    minamata
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    originally established in 1889 as a
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    village
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    minamata grew into a small town by 1949
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    with a strong fishing community and a
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    close-knit town folk
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    today minamata is an eco town with a
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    fantastic set of environmental goals and
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    initiatives
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    however the town is known for something
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    much
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    much more sinister this is the story of
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    the minamata disaster
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    the town that was poisoned
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    it was in the mid-1950s when the people
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    of minamata first started to notice
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    something strange
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    something was off with the town's cats
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    at first
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    they were often reported to stay up all
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    night screeching and scratching
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    a few weeks later their cats started to
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    go crazy
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    dancing and throwing themselves into the
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    sea
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    at first the townsfolk thought the cats
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    were committing suicide
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    not long after the strange phenomenon
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    started spreading across the town
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    in the beginning the symptoms weren't so
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    bad
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    the townsfolk would report numbness in
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    their lips and limbs others lost their
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    sight and summed their vision
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    then the symptoms worsened with some of
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    the townsfolk reporting splitting
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    headaches
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    that left them unable to move and
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    uncontrollable tremors and shakes
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    it wasn't so long after the first
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    symptoms appeared that
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    the people of minamata seemed to go
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    crazy
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    shouting uncontrollably and unable to
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    walk properly
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    their nervous system was failing and it
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    seemed the whole town
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    was falling ill but nobody knew why
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    a team of researchers set out to find
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    the calls that had been plaguing the
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    town
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    and researchers from their kuramotu
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    university
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    began working in doing so in july 1959
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    it didn't take them long to find out the
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    cause of the problem the researchers
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    were shocked to discover
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    that the source of the illness was high
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    levels of mercury poisoning
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    which they named the minamata disease
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    but they had no idea how the townfolk
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    had been poisoned so
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    how did the town folks get poisoned well
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    leading scientists soon suspected that
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    the fish bay of minamata had been
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    poisoned
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    minamata was a fishing town which meant
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    their main source of food
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    consumption was fish
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    when they put the pieces together there
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    was only one culprit
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    a large petrochemical plant run by the
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    chiso corporation
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    immediately the chiso corporation went
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    into damage control and denied
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    all the allegations and proceeded with
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    business as normal
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    in reality the chiso corporation had
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    dumped an estimation
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    of 27 tons of mercury compounds
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    into minamata bay the mercury dunkin
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    continued
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    which continued to poison the town this
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    led to women giving birth to poison
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    babies
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    these children were born with severe
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    deformities including
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    gnarled limbs mental retardation
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    deafness
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    and blindness it would take years for
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    the chiso corporation to admit their
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    wrongdoing
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    and it took until 1968 for them to stop
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    dumping mercury into the bay
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    by this point more than 2 000 people had
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    died
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    with thousands more suffering lifelong
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    damage
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    to date the chisel corporation has
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    finally compensated over 10 000 people
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    and continues to be involved in a
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    lawsuit regarding the maya
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    on october the 16th 2004 the supreme
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    court of japan ordered the government
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    to pay 71 million yen in damages to the
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    mean amount of disease victims
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    on july 29th 1997 minamata bay was
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    declared
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    safe and in some good news minamata has
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    now focused on becoming an environmental
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    city
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    and although the town folk can't escape
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    the nightmare that was their past
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    they have tried their hardest to build a
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    better future
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    on the 1st of may 2006 a memorial
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    service was held at the minamata disease
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    museum
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    to mark 50 years since the official
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    discovery of the disease
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    despite bad weather over 600 people
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    attended
Tag
  • Minamata
  • mercury poisoning
  • Japan
  • Chiso Corporation
  • environmental disaster
  • compensation
  • eco-town
  • mercury contamination
  • fishing town