Predicted Restoration of the Surrounding Marine Environment after an Artificial Mercury Decontamination at Minamata Bay, Japan - Economic Values for Natural and Artificial Processes

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kudo ◽  
S. Miyahara
Keyword(s):  
Half Life ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Inorganic Mercury ◽  
Reclaimed Land ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
Land Mass ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Minamata Bay

More than 35 years ago, an accident surfaced because of human misery at Minamata Bay, Japan. By 1960, more than 100 people suffered (mortality rate was over 20%) by eating fish containing methylmercury. By 1987, 1742 people were identified with this Minamata disease. The methylmercury along with inorganic mercury was released from a nearby chemical factory into the Bay, contaminating not only fish but the entire ecosystem including the bottom sediments. The amount of mercury deposited in the sediments was considered to be 150 tons. The Japanese Government initiated, in 1984, a decontamination project vacuuming the contaminated sediments into a sealed area creating a reclaimed land mass of 582,000 m2. The movement of the mercury deposited in the Bay outward to Yatsushiro Sea, was observed during the last 16 years by sampling and analyzing the surface sediments of Yatsushiro Sea. Since 1975, the deposited mercury moved continuously outside from the Bay at an annual rate of 3.7 tons. The initiation of the artificial decontamination (over $500 million in US funds), however, changed the pattern of mercury movement and drastically reduced its contents with a half-life of 1.83 years. Since 1985, the amounts of mercury in the surface sediments of Yatsushiro Sea have been decreasing dramatically with a half-life of 9.5 years. If this present trend of decrease continues, it becomes possible to predict that the Sea would be completely restored by 2011 AD. Another interesting observation was a historical storm in 1982, which cleaned-up the surface sediments of Yatsushiro Sea with a half-life of 2.76 years. If the clean-up effect of the natural processes in Yatsushiro Sea was compared to the artificial one, its economic value was calculated to be $96 million (US funds). Any decontamination attempt for polluted sites should consider a combination of the natural and artificial decontamination processes for economic reasons.

Natural and Artificial Mercury Decontamination - Ottawa River and Minamata Bay (Yatsushiro Sea)

1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 217-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Half Life ◽  
River System ◽  
Surrounding Area ◽  
Surrounding Water ◽  
Ottawa River ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Minamata Bay ◽  
The Given

Everyday, man creates new processes and materials whose properties are not fully known and are sometimes toxic to him and the environment. One of the worst cases was in Minamata Bay, Japan where a fatal accident occurred due to mercury pollution. The accident was unique in many aspects thus forcing the establishment of a new decontamination process for polluted areas. Two mercury polluted sites, the Ottawa River, Canada and Minamata Bay (Yatsushiro Sea), Japan, have been investigated to establish a fundamental approach for decontamination with special emphasis on natural and artificial processes and their problems. Artificial decontamination on bottom sediments has primarily cleaned-up Minamata Bay and the near-by Yatsushiro Sea considerably, an acceleration of the natural processes by 31.5 years. The surrounding area will be fully cleaned-up by natural forces, following the artificial work, by 2011 AD (or 20 years from now). This means that the natural decontamination has a half-life of 9.5 years in Yatsushiro Sea. For the Ottawa River, only natural processes were applied to clean-up the river system. It took 5 years for physical components to be decontaminated (a half-life of 1.20 years) while it took a longer period for biological components. This last finding was also true for Minamata Bay. This delay may be due to the longer life span of the biota and their efficient processes of bioaccumulation from diluted surrounding water. Based on the findings herein, a combination of both artificial and natural decontamination methods is recommended in consideration with the given environmental conditions.

A Case History; Minamata Mercury Pollution in Japan – From Loss of Human Lives to Decontamination

1991 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 283-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Kudo ◽  
Shojiro Miyahara
Keyword(s):  
Mercury Concentration ◽  
Industrial Wastewater ◽  
Total Mercury ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Organic Mercury ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
Minamata Bay

At Minamata Bay in Japan, more than 100 people lost their lives and many thousands more were permanently paralyzed from eating mercury contaminated fish. In the long history of water pollution, this was the first known case where the natural bioaccumulation (in fish) of a toxicant from an industrial wastewater killed a large number of human beings. The mercury, discharged from a factory, was deposited on the bottom of the Bay and has remained there since the 1950's. The fate of the mercury was traced by measuring 268 mercury concentrations in the surface sediments at Yatsushiro Sea (outside of the Bay) during the last 14 years. Twenty-four sampling stations were established to collect samples at the same location every year. Samples were analyzed for total mercury concentrations. The concentrations of mercury in the surface sediments at the Sea were not alarming. Only 33 samples exceeded a mercury concentration of 1 ppm. The dispersion of the mercury from the Bay, however, was clearly documented with the data. On average, 3.7 tons of the mercury was transported outside from the Bay every year. A decontamination project started in 1984 dramatically decreased the flow of mercury from the Bay to the Sea. A historic rainfall in 1982 also ‘purified' the surface sediments. Organic mercury concentration in the sea water was 5.1 ng/l while total mercury was 120 ng/l at the center of the Bay in 1985.

Twelve Years of Observations of Mercury Concentrations in Yatsushiro Sea (Japan)

1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Miyahara ◽  
M. Schintu ◽  
T. Kauri ◽  
A. Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Surface Sediment ◽  
Total Mercury ◽  
Considerable Increase ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Organic Mercury ◽  
Minamata Disease ◽  
River Waters ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
Minamata Bay

The fate of the mercury which caused the tragedy of Minamata disease has been monitored for a period of 12 years determining mercury contents in the surface sediment of Yatsushiro Sea. Twenty-four sampling stations were selected over an area of 636 km2. Mercury concentrations, both organic and inorganic, in water were also determined within the Bay and the Sea in 1985. Mercury has been dispersing from the Bay to the Sea. From 1975 to 1986 there was a considerable increase of mercury contents in the surface sediments. However, there is no alarming level of mercury in the sediments of Yatsushiro Sea and the level is mostly less than 1 ppm. Mercury concentrations in the water of Minamata Bay were as much as 6 times higher compared to those of Yatsushiro Sea. The highest level in the Bay was 125.3 ng/l (total mercury) whereas the highest level in the Sea was 25.8 ng/l. The proportion of organic mercury in the total mercury ranged from 0.9% to 13.7 % in the Sea. The proportion was lower than those found in river waters.

Lessons from Minamata mercury pollution, Japan - after a continuous 22 years of observation

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kudo ◽  
Y. Fujikawa ◽  
S. Miyahara ◽  
J. Zheng ◽  
H. Takigami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Mercury Poisoning ◽  
Dramatic Decrease ◽  
Minamata Disease ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
Methylmercury Poisoning ◽  
Minamata Bay

One of the most visible tragedies by industrial water pollution is Minamata disease, methylmercury poisoning caused by eating contaminated fish, which has killed more than 100 people and paralyzed several thousand people around Minamata Bay, Japan and the adjacent Yatsushiro Sea since 1956. The cause of Minamata disease was confirmed, not by analyzing environmental samples such as sediments (containing more than 600 ppm of Hg) or fish (at least 20 ppm) at the bay, but by symptoms of Minamata disease patients that resembled previous mercury poisoning reported in a European medical journal. Mercury dispersion was traced for 22 years to collect mercury concentration measurements in Yatsushiro Sea surface sediments at 24 fixed stations. The analytical results of mercury revealed four trends of mercury movement from the bay: 1) a rapid increase in Hg concentrations up to 1984; 2) a dramatic decrease in mercury concentrations after an artificial mercury decontamination project began in 1984; 3) a strange drop in mercury contents due to an historical rainfall in the region in 1982 and; 4) natural decontamination, which has been underway since 1985. The tragedy at Minamata has provided many lessons which have shaped the scientific field in environmental research, especially in the area of water quality.

Concentrations and Distribution of Mercury and Other Heavy Metals in Surface Sediments of the Yatsushiro Sea including Minamata Bay, Japan

2007 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruhiko Nakata ◽  
Hideaki Shimada ◽  
Maki Yoshimoto ◽  
Rika Narumi ◽  
Kazumi Akimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
Minamata Bay

Inorganic mercury and methylmercury in surface sediments and mussel tissues from a microtidal lagoon (Bizerte, Tunisia)

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
N. Mzoughi ◽  
T. Stoichev ◽  
M. Dachraoui ◽  
A. El Abed ◽  
D. Amouroux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Inorganic Mercury

scholarly journals Determining Suitable Locations for Regional Waste Final Processing Site (WFP) Using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) (Case Study: Malang City and Malang Regency)

2021 ◽  
Vol 936 (1) ◽  
pp. 012041
Author(s):  
Yanto Budisusanto ◽  
Nurwatik ◽  
Dani Ilham Zhaqdavyan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Value ◽  
Pairwise Comparison ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Summation Method ◽  
City Government ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Processing Site ◽  
Simple Additive Weighting ◽  
Location Map ◽  
Preference Weights

Abstract Garbage or waste is basically a residual material resulting from human activities and natural processes that have no economic value anymore. The volume of waste in Malang City and Malang Regency every year always increases, so the existing waste final processing site will no longer be able to accommodate the pile of garbage. Therefore the Malang City Government plans to collaborate with the Malang Regency Government in making an integrated regional waste landfill and processing site. In this study, an analysis of the determination of the appropriate location for regional waste final processing for Malang City and Malang Regency was carried out using the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method. The SAW method is a weighted summation method, which can make a more precise assessment, based on the predetermined criteria and preference weights. Preference weights were determined by pairwise comparison method. The criteria used are geological hazardous areas, distance from drinking water sources, land slope level, distance from settlements, protected areas and distance from airports. The final result in this study is a map of the appropriate location for a regional waste final processing site and an analysis of the location for the best regional final processing site. The location map is classified into three, namely: not feasible with a total area of 54,774.33 ha, less feasible with a total area of 170,846.49 ha and feasible with a total area of 130,096.63 ha.

History of mercury migration from Minamata Bay to the Yatsushiro Sea

2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 177-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kudo ◽  
Y. Fujikawa ◽  
M. Mitui ◽  
M. Sugahara ◽  
G. Tao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deposition Rate ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Mercury Pollution ◽  
Yatsushiro Sea ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sediment Particles ◽  
Minamata Bay

Mercury concentrations were measured in sediment cores collected from the Yatsushiro Sea to clarify physical transport of mercury from Minamata, the site of major methylmercury pollution in Japan, to the surrounding sea. The results suggested that the mercury pollution in the Yatsushiro Sea sediment was caused by a slow migration of mercury-bearing sediment particles from Minamata Bay. The deposition rate of mercury observed at the Yatsushiro Sea was correlated with cumulative loss of mercury from an acetaldehyde facility in Chisso Minamata, with a certain time-lag.

The Biological Half-life of Inorganic Mercury in the Dungeness Crab (Cancer magister)

1974 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1571-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Sloan ◽  
J. A. J. Thompson ◽  
P. A. Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Computer Program ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Inorganic Mercury ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Dungeness Crab ◽  
Cancer Magister ◽  
Biological Half Life ◽  
Negative Exponential

The biological half-life of inorganic mercury in the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister, has been determined experimentally to be about 25 days. Three theoretical models to explain the mode of elimination were tested by computer program. From results obtained, the validity of the widely used negative exponential "biological half-life" is left in some doubt.

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