Period+4+-+Minamata

= __Minamata__ =

Minamata is a coastal town in Kumamoto prefecture, located in south-eastern Kyushu Island. Minamata was a large fishing port, therefore providing most of the jobs in the town. The contamination spread to the water, causing almost all of the fish and shellfish in and around the town to be ruined. The form of contamination was a mercury was known as Methyl mercury and was being dumped into local water ways. The total amount of chemical waste dumped into the water ways was over 27 tons. Through bioaccumulation of the mercury in the water, the people of Minamata were eventually affected. This event caused a total of 43 deaths in the town. The sickness was known as the Minamata disease. The symptoms included numbness, difficulty in controlling their limbs, and impaired speech and hearing. Minamata disease also caused many medical problems, such as physical deformities, mental retardation, and neurological deficit among infants. Anyone who had a high proportional diet in fish or selfish was affected by the Methylmercury. The source of the mercury was traced to an effluent containing Mercuric-Sulfate from a local PVC factory. The largest amounts of mercury were added by the Chisso Chemical Works plant. Even though it was obvious that the Chisso Chemical owners dumped chemical waste, there was never solid evidence pointing to the company. Knowing this, the company denied the accusations and said that the entire incident never occurred. After 3 years in 1956 the source of the mercury was finally traced back to the Chisso Chemical plant. Even though they caused many deaths and would affect pregnancies for years to come the Chisso plant never admitted to what they did. There were no laws or regulations created because of this incident, however it has stopped due to pressure from environmental organizations and the citizens of the town.

This picture shows the Bioaccumulation of the Methylmercury that spilled into the water ways. The reason that people who ate the fish were affected because of the bioaccumulation from the high levels of methylmercury in the fish that they consumed. Bioaccumulation is the magnification of pesticides and chemicals in organisms as you get higher in the food chain. So the higher up the food chain you go, the higher the levels of methylmercury will be found in the organisms. The reason for this is that the organisms high up on the food chain consume more methylmercury amounts in their food than they can lose, so overtime the amount of methylmercury builds up and becomes harmful.



Minamata Bay, where the methylmercury was dumped from the Chisso PVC Factory.



Bibliography
 * Robin Lenman "Minamata" //The Oxford Companion to the Photograph//. Ed. Robin Lenman. Oxford University Press 2005. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Cumberland Valley High School. 30 October 2008 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t207.e1021
 * "Minamata disease" //Concise Medical Dictionary//. Oxford University Press, 2007. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Cumberland Valley High School. 30 October 2008 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t60.e6296
 * "Minamata disease" //A Dictionary of Public Health//. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Cumberland Valley High School. 30 October 2008 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e2874
 * "bioaccumulation" //A Dictionary of Biology//. Elizabeth Martin and Robert Hine. Oxford University Press, 2008. //Oxford Reference Online//. Oxford University Press. Cumberland Valley High School. 31 October 2008 

Comments: I really like how they explained what's happening in the photo and what Minamata is all about. What i don't really like is their bibiography. I think it was a little too much, they should have just put the website only.

The pages includes a lot of information and really explains what has happened involing Minamata which helps make this a good informative. Perhaps by breaking the paragraphs up more or making more titles, the information can become more organized and faster to find.