How is Minamata disease an environmental disease?
How is Minamata disease an environmental disease?
Minamata disease is a poisoning disease that affects mainly the central nervous system and is caused by the consumption of large quantities of fish and shellfish living in Minamata Bay and its surroundings, the major causative agent being some sort of organic mercury compound.
What impact does Mercury have on the environment?
Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic pollutant. When released into the environment, it accumulates in water laid sediments where it converts into toxic methylmercury and enters the food chain.
How did the Minamata disease affect the animals?
Wildlife Poisonings Crows were reported to be becoming sick and dying in the area. By 1953, cats were frequently dying from cramps with a condition dubbed “dancing disease.” Kitamura et al. (1957) reported that 50 of 61 cats bred by families of Minamata disease patients died in 1953–1956.
What is Minamata disease where did it happen How did it affect the Bay ecosystem?
Minamata disease is a methylmercury poisoning with neurological symptoms and caused by the daily consump- tion of large quantities of fish and shellfish that were heavily contaminated with the toxic chemical generated in chemical factories and then discharged into the sea.
How was the contamination from the Minamata Bay mitigated?
With regard to the Minamata plant of Chisso Co., Ltd., through the completion of the perfect circulation system in 1966, water effluent containing methylmercury compound had not been discharged outside of the plant in principle, and the pollutant source was eliminated through cessation of the production of acetaldehyde …
Which organ is affected by Minamata disease?
The target organ of methylmercury is the central nervous system. The affected patients manifest neurological signs, including paresthesia, ataxia, dysarthria, constriction of the visual field, and/or hearing difficulties.
What health problems can mercury cause?
However, when elemental mercury is ingested, little is absorbed into the body. The inhalation of elemental mercury vapours can cause neurological and behavioural disorders, such as tremors, emotional instability, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular changes and headaches. They can also harm the kidneys and thyroid.
What is the impact of mercury on human health and environment?
Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life. Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
Which of the following is responsible for Minamata disease caused due to water pollution?
Minamata disease (M. d.) is methylmercury (MeHg) poisoning that occurred in humans who ingested fish and shellfish contaminated by MeHg discharged in waste water from a chemical plant (Chisso Co. Ltd.).
Which pollutant causes Minamata disease?
How was the Minamata Disease cleaned up?
Which of the following is responsible for the Minamata disease caused due to water pollution?
What is the history of Minamata disease?
On May 1, 1956, a doctor in Japan reported an “epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system,” marking the official discovery of Minamata disease. In the late 1950s Minamata Bay, Japan became contaminated with mercury from a nearby factory manufacturing the chemical acetaldehyde (Chisso Corporation’s chemical waste pipe).
How did the pollution of Minamata affect humans and the environment?
EFFECTS OF THE MINAMATA DISEASE ON HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. 1 Trees dying due to pollution 2 All water in Minamata Bay was polluted, killing all sea creatures 3 Killed all wildlife that lived near Minamata Bay 4 Thousands of animals in the Shiranui Sea perished 5 Pollution was released into the air, causing the ozone layer to deteriorate
How did Minamata Bay get contaminated with Mercury?
In the late 1950s Minamata Bay, Japan became contaminated with mercury from a nearby factory manufacturing the chemical acetaldehyde (Chisso Corporation’s chemical waste pipe). The mercury was biotransformed by bacteria in the water into methylmercury, or organic mercury, that bioaccumulated and biomagnified in the muscle of fish.
Is Minamata disease contagious?
Therefore, sea creatures were greatly affected by the substance, and as a result, Minamata disease is caused by the intake of the defiled seafood. With this opinion being announced, it was eventually discovered that Minamata disease was pollution-based disease, and is not infectious.
