National Institute for Minamata Disease

(Background)

An investigation into the Methyl Mercury concentration levels in hair samples was performed at the request of Taiji-cho, Higashimuro-Gun, Wakayama.

(Subject of Investigation and Method)

1. Inquiry to the consumption of methyl mercury

Of the Taiji residents (population 3,536; 1,600 males, 1926 females, as of July 2009), in the summer study between June=Aug. 2009, 1017 residents, and in the winter study in Feb. 2010, 372 residents had hair samples tested for mercury concentrations. (252 overlapping subjects, for a total of 1137 residents tested) Subjects tested were asked to complete a voluntary survey with respect to the amount of and kinds of fish consumed.

1. Study on the effects on Health

Of the subjects studied in the summer study, 182 who had relatively high mercury concentrations (105 males, 77 females), were administered a standard two-point discrimination test and upper limb functionality exercise tests by neurological specialists between July and November 2009 and in January 2010.

Results

1. Methyl Mercury Concentration Study
2. Summer study results of mercury concentration in hair samples of subjects (from smallest to largest) was on average 11.0ppm for males (0.74ppm~139ppm), and 6.63ppm for females (0.61ppm~79.9ppm), compared to 14 other regions of Japan, the average was (from smallest to largest, 2.47ppm in males (0.10ppm~40.6ppm), and 1.64ppm for women (0.01ppm~25.8ppm).
3. Summer study results showed 3.1%, 32 subjects (26 male, 6 female) whose mercury levels exceeded WHO’s 50ppm lower limit for neurological symptoms.
4. Winter study results of mercury concentration averages showed males at 11.2ppm, females at 6.46ppm, an insignificant difference compared to the summer study. Both the summer and winter studies combined, subjects with over 50ppm equaled 3.8%, for a total of 43 subjects. Some subjects in the winter report overlapped in the summer study and it can be said that there was an increase in the mercury concentrations in the hair samples.
5. There is a correlation between eating some types of whale meat and mercury concentration in hair samples.

2) Study on Health Effects

1) In this study, it could not be proven that there was a case for mercury poisoning.

2) From the analysis of upper limb functional movement, “upper limb involuntary functionality” (tremors) which had been recognized in many Taiji  residents who took the test, has low possibility of being a pathological condition.

3) In neurological testing, a correlation is recognized between the decline or loss of the Achilles tendon reflex and mercury concentrations in hair samples. Compared to the residents from K cho, Ooshima-gun, Kagoshima Prefecture, there was an insignificant possibility of the effects of mercury on the tested Taiji-cho residents as the decline or loss of the Achilles tendon reflex was low .

(Further Investigation)

While the results from this study did not show the health affects of methyl mercury in Taiji residents, because of the extremely high concentrations of mercury in hairs samples, further testing is necessary. From 2010 on, in addition to further mercury concentration hair samples and neurological tests, testing on the effects on children and circulatory systems will be carried out by the National Institute for Minamata Disease. Also, for objective assessment for sensory disorders, the possibility of the use of magnetoencephalo meteres will be recommended. This data was collected for the continuing research for Taiji-cho Residents.

WHO and FAO discuss health risks to consumers of whale, dolphin and porpoise meat for the first time – Japan is one of the most affected countries

Press Release: 27th January 2010

Geneva/Tokyo: This week the World Health Organisation WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are holding an expert consultation on the risks of fish consumption and – encouraged by a coalition of environmental groups – for the first time the health risks associated with consuming contaminated meat and blubber from whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans).

Within the last decade numerous scientific findings have been published, clearly showing extremely high levels of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other toxic substances in cetacean products on sale for human consumption. During this period scientists have also found a strong correlation between the consumption of cetacean meat with a variety of human diseases, including Parkinson’s disease, arteriosclerosis, immune subsystem suppression, and hypertension. Threats to children include autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

In Japan, up to 20,000 toothed cetaceans in addition to over 1,000 large baleen whales are annually hunted and consumed. Toothed cetaceans mainly feed at the top of a complex marine food web and therefore may accumulate particularly high levels of toxic substances. It has also been found however that minke whales, a filter feeding species which typically feeds lower down the food chain, can also carry PCB and mercury levels above Japan’s own safety limits.

“Despite the overwhelming scientific findings that cetacean products can pose a risk to human health they remain on sale throughout Japan and are even distributed to some Japanese schools as part of the obligatory school lunch programme” states Clare Perry of the Environmental Investigation Agency and coordinator of an international coalition of groups concerned about cetacean hunting and related health risks.

Sakae Hemmi of the Japan based NGO Elsa Nature Conservancy said: “It is time for our government to stop the sale of cetacean products and properly inform consumers about these health risks. So far up to 90 percent of the Japanese citizens are not aware of these risks.”

Only recently Japanese scientists published new findings that show mercury levels in citizens of the Japanese whaling town Taiji up to 25 times higher than Japan’s average. In November a joint letter by Japanese consumer and food safety groups and international conservation organisations called on Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food Safety to prohibit the sale of polluted cetacean products

For further information or images, contact:

Sakae Hemmi, ELSA Nature Conservancy, Japan
chimarin@mtj.biglobe.ne.jp, Tel. +81-29-851-1637

Clare Perry, Senior Campaigner, EIA
clareperry@eia-international.org Tel: +34 971510046 / +34 664348821

Dr. Sandra Altherr, Pro Wildlife
Sandra.altherr@prowildlife.de Tel: +49 89 81299-507

Sigrid Lueber, President OceanCare
slueber@oceancare.org Tel: +41 79 475 2687

Dr. Birgith Sloth, Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals
Beeco11@yahoo.dk , Tel: +45 20890439

Andy Ottawa, Campaign Whale
andyo@campaign-whale.org, +44 1273 471403

Sue Fisher, Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society
sue.fisher@wdcs.org, +1 508 746-2522

Editors Notes

• Evidence of the contamination of toothed whale, dolphin and porpoise products in Japan is widely available, including the following publications:
• Endo, T. and Haraguchi, K. 2010. High mercury levels in hair samples from residents of Taiji, a Japanese whaling town. Marine Pollution Bulletin in press.
• Endo, T., Hotta, Y., Haraguchi, K., and Sakata, M. 2003. Mercury Contamination in the Red Meat of Whales and Dolphins Marketed for Human Consumption in Japan. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2003, 37 (12), pp 2681–2685. Available at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es034055n
• Poisonous Policies – Japan’s failure to stop the sale of polluted whale, dolphin and porpoise products. Available in Japanese and English at http://www.eia-international.org/campaigns/species/cetaceans/reports/
• Toxic Menu – Contamination of whale meat and impact on consumers’ health. Available at www.prowildlife.de/sites/default/files/toxic menue_lowres.pdf
• Mercury Contamination is Threatening Our Dining Table – An Investigative Report. Available in English and Japanese, www.elsaenc.net/
• Link to AERA magazine article (subscription): http://www.aera-net.jp/latest/backdetail.html?id=111
• Link to open letter (English): http://www.eia-international.org/files/reports187-1.pdf
• Link to the open letter (Japanese): http://www.eia-international.org/files/reports188-1.pdf