
Something in the Water: Life After Mercury Poisoning (2017) - onychomys
https://daily.jstor.org/life-after-mercury-poisoning/
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nerdponx
_This all took a while to figure out, but court proceedings ultimately found
Chisso responsible in 1973, charging it with negligence for not foreseeing the
risk posed by its wastewater. Long beforehand, in the summer of 1959, factory
hospital doctor Hajime Hosokawa had been conducting his own experiment by
giving Chisso wastewater to cats. When one of these – the now infamous cat 400
– developed signs of Minamata disease, he reported it to management._

 _They ordered him to keep further experiments secret, then spent years
denying responsibility as Minamata’s disease outbreak drew media attention.
Backed by the national government and scientists in Tokyo, Chisso criticised
researchers who blamed the disease on mercury from the factory and supported
research that hunted for other potential causes, like the victim-blaming
theory that Minamata residents had eaten already-spoiled fish. The corporation
even staged a misleading photo-op to prove the wastewater was being safely
treated._

To me, this kind of thing is at least as horrifying as a random killing spree
at a school, all the moreso because the perpetrators are in plain sight, but
are never personally held responsible. Even if they didn't know mercury could
be methylated in the environment, mercury itself was known to be toxic in the
1930s. I don't see how dumping untreated chemicals into the water in the name
of making more money is anything but sociopathic behavior.

~~~
Fnoord
> I don't see how dumping untreated chemicals into the water in the name of
> making more money is anything but sociopathic behavior.

Heh, exactly what happens with clandestine drugs productions but it could also
be a matter of not getting caught. In the end, the dumping of chemicals is
always one way or another money related.

