Chisso - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The is a Japanese chemical company. It is particularly well known as a supplier of liquid crystal

Liquid crystal

Liquid crystals are a state of matter that have properties between those of a conventional liquid and those of a solid crystal. For instance, an LC may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many different types of LC phases, which can be...

used for LCD displays.

Chisso is also known for its thirty-four year long contamination of the water supply in Minamata

Minamata, Kumamoto

is a city located in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū. The city was founded on April 1, 1949.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 27,856 and the density of 171 persons per km²...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

that led to thousands of deaths and victims of disease. Between 1932 and 1968, Chisso's chemical factory in Minamata released large quantities of industrial wastewater

Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...

that was contaminated with highly toxic

Toxicity

Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage a living or non-living organisms. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell or an organ , such as the liver...

methylmercury

Methylmercury

Methylmercury is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is a bioaccumulative environmental toxicant.-Structure:...

. This poison water bioaccumulated

Bioaccumulation

Bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation of substances, such as pesticides, or other organic chemicals in an organism. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a toxic substance at a rate greater than that at which the substance is lost...

in local sea life that was then consumed by the immediate population. As a result of this contamination, 2,265 individuals in the area were inflicted with what is now known as Minamata disease

Minamata disease

', sometimes referred to as , is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death...

. 1,784 of those victims died as a result of the poisoning and/or the disease. Those who were afflicted with the disease developed skeletomuscular deformities and lost the ability to perform motor functions such as walking. Many also lost significant amounts of vision, as well as hearing and speech capabilities. Severe cases presented with insanity, paralysis, coma and then death within weeks of the onset of symptoms.

As of March 2001, over 10,000 individuals had received financial remuneration from Chisso to compensate them for the harm caused by the chemical release. By 2004, Chisso Corporation had paid $86 million in compensation, and, in the same year, the company was ordered to clean up its contamination. However, the incident remains controversial for not only the poisoning itself but also for its tactics that company used to suppress the negative aftermath.

History

Note: K.K. stands for Kabushiki kaisha
Kabushiki kaisha
is a type of business defined under Japanese law.-Usage in language:Both kabushiki kaisha and the rendaku form kabushiki gaisha are used. The "K" spelling is much more common in the names of companies and in English-language legal literature, whereas the "G" pronunciation is dominant in...

: a corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

regulated by Japanese law

Japanese law

-Historical Developments:Pre-Modern History The early law of Japan was heavily influenced by Chinese law. Little is known about Japanese law prior to the seventh century, when the Ritsuryō was developed and codified. Before Chinese characters were transplanted and adopted by the Japanese, the...

Foundation

In 1906, Shitagau Noguchi

Shitagau Noguchi

was a Japanese entrepreneur who founded the Nichitsu zaibatsu. Known as the father of electrochemical engineering in Japan, he invested heavily in the development of Korea and Manchukou in cooperation with the Imperial Japanese Army...

, an electrical engineering

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

graduate of Tokyo Imperial University, founded the which operated a hydroelectric power station in Ōkuchi

Okuchi, Kagoshima

was a city located in Kagoshima, Japan. It is now part of the city of Isa.Ōkuchi is the northernmost city on the mainland part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Only the island portion of Nagashima extends further north. Ōkuchi is a mountainous area that borders on Kumamoto Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture...

, Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers...

. The power station supplied electricity for the gold mines in Ōkuchi but had overcapacity. To make use of the surplus power, in 1908, Noguchi founded the which operated a carbide

Carbide

In chemistry, a carbide is a compound composed of carbon and a less electronegative element. Carbides can be generally classified by chemical bonding type as follows: salt-like, covalent compounds, interstitial compounds, and "intermediate" transition metal carbides...

factory in the coastal town of Minamata

Minamata, Kumamoto

, Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...

, about 30 km northwest of Ōkuchi. In the same year he merged the two companies to form the - usually referred to as Nichitsu.

Expansion

In 1909, Noguchi purchased the rights to the Frank-Caro process

Frank-Caro process

The Frank–Caro process, also called cyanamide process, is the nitrogen fixation reaction of calcium carbide and nitrogen gas in an electric furnace heated at about 1,000°C. The synthesis produces calcium cyanamide and carbon.-History:...

, whereby atmospheric nitrogen

Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...

was combined with calcium carbide

Calcium carbide

thumb|right|Calcium carbide.Calcium carbide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula of CaC2. The pure material is colorless, however pieces of technical grade calcium carbide are grey or brown and consist of only 80-85% of CaC2 . Because of presence of PH3, NH3, and H2S it has a...

(a key product of the young company) to produce calcium cyanamide

Calcium cyanamide

Calcium cyanamide or CaCN2 is a calcium compound used as fertilizer, first synthesized in 1898 by Adolph Frank and Nikodem Caro . It is formed when calcium carbide reacts with nitrogen. It is commercially known as Nitrolime....

, a chemical fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

. Nitrogenous fertilizers were key to boosting agricultural production in Japan

Japan

at the time, due to its lack of arable land and the small-scale nature of its farms, so the company found a ready market for its product. Nichitsu also branched out into other products produced from calcium carbide

Calcium carbide

, beginning production of acetic acid

Acetic acid

Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...

, ammonia

Ammonia

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

, explosives and butanol

Butanol

Butanol or butyl alcohol can refer to any of the four isomeric alcohols of formula C4H9OH:*n-Butanol, butan-1-ol, 1-butanol, n-butyl alcohol;*Isobutanol, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, isobutyl alcohol;...

.

Production of ammonium sulfate

Ammonium sulfate

Ammonium sulfate , 2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen as ammonium cations, and 24% sulfur as sulfate anions...

(another chemical fertilizer) started in 1914 at a plant in Kagami

Kagami, Kumamoto

was a town located in Yatsushiro District, Kumamoto, Japan.On August 1, 2005 Kagami, along with the town of Senchō, and the villages of Izumi, Sakamoto and Tōyō, all from Yatsushiro District, was merged into the expanded city of Yatsushiro and no longer exists as an independent municipality.As of...

, Kumamoto Prefecture

Kumamoto Prefecture

, using a nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation

Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...

process - a Japan first. Sales of ammonium sulfate were increasing year-on-year as were market prices. A new plant was opened at the Minamata

Minamata, Kumamoto

factory in 1918 where it was able to produce ammonium sulfate for 70 yen per ton and sell it for five and a half times the cost. These massive profits enabled Nichitsu to survive the subsequent drop in prices after the return of foreign competition into the Japanese market after the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

in Europe in September 1918.

After the war, Noguchi visited Europe and decided Nichitsu should pioneer an alternative synthesis of ammonium sulfate

Ammonium sulfate

in Japan. In 1924, the Nichitsu plant at Nobeoka

Nobeoka, Miyazaki

is the northernmost city located in Miyazaki, Japan.-Population:As of the January 1, 2008 merger, the city has an estimated population of 130,435 and a population density of 150 persons per km². The total area is 867.97 km².-History:...

began production using the Casale ammonia synthesis which required the use of extremely high temperatures and pressures. Once the process was proved a success, the Minamata

Minamata, Kumamoto

plant was converted to the process and began mass production.

Nichitsu grew steadily, invested its profits in new technology and expanded production into new areas and slowly became a large conglomerate of many different companies.

Nichitsu in Korea

In 1924, Shitagau Noguchi decided to expand Nichitsu into Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

. In those days, Korea was a colony of Japan

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....

.

In 1926, he established two companies in Korea as subsidiaries of Nichitsu, mirroring the foundation of the parent company: and . Noguchi wanted to repeat his success in Ōkuchi and Minamata, but on an even greater scale in Korea.

The power company constructed hydroelectric power plants one after another along rivers draining into the Yalu River

Yalu River

The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....

. In 1927, the fertilizer subsidiary built a huge chemical complex in Hamhung

Hamhung

Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...

. The hydroelectric power plants supplied electricity for the chemical plant, in the same way as the Ōkuchi power plant had done so for the Minamata chemical factory.

Nichitsu invested Korea more aggressively than any other Japanese company. It and its subsidiaries grew rapidly in Korea, and came to be recognized as an emerging zaibatsu

Zaibatsu

is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...

.

The difference between Nichitsu's zaibatsu and established zaibatsu like Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi

The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

and Mitsui

Mitsui

is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...

was that Nichitsu did not have its own bank and insurance company. Nichitsu therefore relied on government-controlled banks.

Dissolution and reorganization

As Japan lost the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

in 1945, Nichitsu and its zaibatsu collapsed and was forced to abandon all properties and interests in Korea. Furthermore, the Allies

Allies

In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...

that occupied Japan

Occupied Japan

At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This foreign presence marked the first time in its history that the island nation had been occupied by a foreign power...

ordered the dismissal of the company, regarding it as a company that adhered to the militarism government.

In 1950, the , usually referred to as Shin Nichitsu, was founded as a successor of the old company. Other successor companies include Asahi Kasei

Asahi Kasei

is a Japanese company. The main products are chemicals and materials science. The company has around 25,000 employees and had consolidated sales of ¥ 1.7 trillion in 2008. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of...

and Sekisui Chemical.

Minamata disease

Nichitsu had started production of acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde is an organic chemical compound with the formula CH3CHO or MeCHO. It is one of the most important aldehydes, occurring widely in nature and being produced on a large scale industrially. Acetaldehyde occurs naturally in coffee, bread, and ripe fruit, and is produced by plants as part...

using a mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

catalyst at its Minamata plant in May 1932, and Shin Nichitsu continued production after the war. The plant discharged wastewater from its acetaldehyde plant into to Minamata Bay

Minamata Bay

Minamata is a small factory town. Minamata Bay is a bay on the west coast of Kyūshū island, located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The bay is part of the larger Shiranui Sea which is sandwiched between the coast of the Kyūshū mainland and the off-lying islands of Kumamoto and Nagasaki...

via Hyakken Harbour. The wastewater contained many pollutants and poisonous substances including methylmercury, a highly toxic chemical.

This chemical was absorbed by fish and shellfish and bioaccumulated up the food chain

Food chain

A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community. Ecologists can broadly lump all life forms into one of two categories called trophic levels: 1) the autotrophs, and 2) the heterotrophs...

. People who unknowingly ate the fish over many years suffered from severe mercury poisoning. Hajime Hosokawa

Hajime Hosokawa

' was director of the company hospital attached to the Chisso corporation's chemical factory in Minamata, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. He was the first doctor to discover and treat patients of the massive outbreak of mercury poisoning that occurred in the town which became known as Minamata...

, a doctor at a Shin Nichitsu's company hospital, officially reported on May 1, 1956 an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.

In 1963, doctors at Kumamoto University

Kumamoto University

is a university located in Kumamoto, Japan. It was established on May 31, 1949, at which time the following institutions were subsumed into it; Kumamoto Teachers College , Kumamoto Pharmaceutical College , The Fifth High School , Kumamoto Medical College , and Kumamoto Technical College ....

concluded that the cause of Minamata disease was mercury emitted by Shin Nippon Chisso Hiryo. In 1965, the company changed its name to . In May 1968, Chisso finally stopped using a mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

catalyst in the production of acetaldehyde

Acetaldehyde

. In 1969, patients sued Chisso for compensation. Many lawsuits were filed against Chisso after 1969, and some of them go on even now.

Chisso used yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

in order to threaten and silence patients and their supporters. Patients and their supporters started the "single shareholder" movement by buying one share of Chisso each, which was aimed at accusing the executives of Chisso in its general meeting. A thousand of the single shareholders participating in the movement gathered in front of a hall in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

to attend the general meeting called on November 28, 1970, but the company prevented them from entering the hall by asking yakuza to become shareholders and occupy the hall. The meeting ended in five minutes with all the bills submitted by the board approved.

In addition, Chisso had American photographer and photo-journalist W. Eugene Smith

W. Eugene Smith

William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...

beaten by yakuza goons after Smith published a highly regarded photo-essay showing the caustic injuries and birth defects Chisso had caused the Minamata population. The centerpiece of the work, titled "Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath

Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath

Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath is a renowned photograph taken by famed American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith in 1971. Many commentators regard Tomoko as Smith's greatest work. The black-and-white photo depicts a mother cradling her severely deformed, naked daughter in a traditional Japanese bathing...

", depicted the severe deformation of a child in her mother's arms after the child was exposed to the effects of Chisso's contamination of the water supply. In response to Chisso's beating of W. Eugene Smith for dissemination of the photographs, Smith was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal

Robert Capa Gold Medal

The Robert Capa Gold Medal is an award for "best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise". It is awarded annually by the Overseas Press Club of America . It was created in honor of the war photographer Robert Capa...

in 1974 for "best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise".

The company's "historical overview" in its current website makes no mention of their role in the mass contamination of Minamata and the dreadful aftermath. Their 2004 Annual Report however reports an equivalent of about US$50 million (5,820 million yen) in "Minamata Disease Compensation Liabilities". From 2000 to 2003, the company also reported total compensation liabilities of over US$170 million. Their 2000 accounts also show that the Japanese

Government of Japan

The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...

and Kumamoto prefectural

Kumamoto Prefecture

governments waived an enormous US$560 million in related liabilities. Their FY2004 and FY2005 reports refer to Minamata disease as "Mad Hatter's Disease

Mad hatter disease

Mad hatter disease describes the symptoms of mercury poisoning, specifically its effect on the nervous system. These include paraesthesias, vision and hearing impairment, slurred speech, anxiety, hallucinations, irritability, depression, lack of coordination, and tremors. The condition was...

", a term coined from the mercury poisoning experienced by hat-makers of the last few centuries (cf Mad Hatter

Mad Hatter

Hatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...

External links

Chisso Corporation

Masters of Photography W. Eugene Smith
W. Eugene Smith
William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...

: Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, Minamata, 1972

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Foundation

Expansion

Nichitsu in Korea

Dissolution and reorganization

Minamata disease

See also

External links