Chemical aftermath: Contamination and cleanup following the tohoku earthquake and tsunami

Environmental Health Perspectives

Volumn 119, Issue 7, 2011, Pages

  Bird, Winifred A ^a   Grossman, Elizabeth ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; DISASTER PLANNING; EARTHQUAKE; ENVIRONMENTAL SANITATION; HEALTH HAZARD; JAPAN; OIL INDUSTRY; POLLUTION; POLLUTION CONTROL; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROTECTION; SLUDGE; TSUNAMI; UNITED STATES;

DISASTERS; EARTHQUAKES; ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS; ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION; HUMANS; JAPAN; RESCUE WORK; TSUNAMIS;

AVES;

EID: 79960066354     PISSN: 00916765     EISSN: 15529924     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.119-a290     Document Type: Article

References (62)

1. Japan has 47 prefectures, each of which-like a U.S. state-has its own governor, laws, and legislative departments. The prefectures are divided into 8 regions. The Tohoku region, covering the northern tip of Japan's main island of Honshu, bore the brunt of the March 11 disaster. Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures, in the neighboring Kanto region to the south, also were affected.
2. Bird WA. Firsthand observation, Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture (10-13 Apr 2011) [this and subsequent firsthand observations and interviews are unpublished].
3. Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. Map of Tsunami Inundation Zone. General Condition. Tsukuba, Japan:Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (updated 18 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/4tefbzy [accessed 9 Jun 2011).
4. As of 9 June 2011 there were 15,401 confirmed deaths and 8,146 missing persons, according to the National Police Agency of Japan.
5. As of 9 June 2011 there were 112,490 totally collapsed and 75,170 halfcollapsed properties, according to the National Police Agency of Japan.
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7. Extremely Poisonous PCBs Leaked as a Result of the Tsunami. Asahi Geino (9 June 2011). Available: http://tinyurl. com/5vt52z4 [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
8. Bird WA. Interview with Yukie Fujiwara, Iwate Prefecture Industry Department (28 Apr 2011).
9. ENEOS Guide Book-Sendai Oil Refinery Guidebook. Sendai, Japan:JX Nippon Oil & Energy (2010). Available: http://tinyurl. com/3jymdhr [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
10. Bird WA. Interview with Hitoshi Sakai, Miyagi Prefecture Industry Department (28 Apr 2011).
11. Alabaster J. Japanese Affected by Tsunami Hope for Swift Soil Recovery. Associated Press via Ag Week (5 April 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/5vjkkof [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
12. Bird WA. Interview with Hitoshi Watanabe, Fukushima Prefecture Industry and Commerce Department (2 May 2011).
13. Operations Stop at One Factory after Another in the Kashima Industrial District: Huge Impact on Downstream Automotive, Electronics, and Other Industries (Disaster Map Series). Toyokeizai Online, Business section (23 Mar 2011). Available: http:// tinyurl.com/6f9th6k [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
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23. Bird WA. Firsthand observation, Minamisanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture (14 Apr 2011). Also documented with photos in the 16 Apr 2011 "Onsite Memo" from Minamisanrikucho and Kessennuma, by the Japan Society for Material Cycles and Waste Management Disaster Management and Reconstruction Task Team. Available: http://tinyurl.com/3hvw9aw [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
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28. Unable to Keep Up with Disaster Waste: A System for Cooperating on a National Scale Is Indispensable. Eco Japan (9 May 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/433n5h7 [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
29. Hirayama N. Estimated Amount of Tsunami Disaster Waste from the Tohoku Earthquake. Presented at the Emergency Briefing Session on Tohoku Disaster Waste, hosted by the Japan Society of Material Cycling and Waste Management, 30 Apr 2011, Tokyo, Japan. Using existing computerized simulations of the tsunami inundation area and data on the number of households in the area, Hirayama predicted 26.73 million metric tons of waste.
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35. Bird WA. Interviews with Hitoshi Suzuki, Fukushima Prefecture Institute of Environmental Research (2 May 2011), Katsumi Shoji and Hiroyuki Akasaka, Miyagi Prefecture Environment Department (28 Apr 2011), and Noriko Abe, Iwate Environmental Preservation Department (28 Apr 2011).
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38. Additional details of the testing are described in the Supplementary Information as follows: Air quality testing: Tests planned in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki prefectures at several dozen locations where large numbers of disaster victims are living, in particular industrial areas where the threat of chemical contamination is high, areas with a lot of tsunami sediment, and areas where there are concerns about dioxins and other harmful substances. Tests will target nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, suspended particulate matter, carbon monoxide, benzene, toluene, dioxins, and other high-priority pollutants. Public water areas: Tests are planned for about 300 locations along the tsunami-damaged coastline from Aomori to Ibaraki prefectures, with an emphasis on industrial areas where there is a high threat that hazardous materials leaked. Tests will target arsenic, lead, PCBs, dioxins, biochemical oxygen demand, and chemical oxygen demand. Groundwater: Tests are planned for about 250 locations in Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, and Ibaraki prefectures, and will take place at wells in areas where facilities handling hazardous substances sustained damage, as well as other areas where chemical contamination is suspected. Tests will target organochlorine compounds, arsenic, lead, and dioxins. Soil: Tests will take place at several dozen locations (especially industrial areas) where hazardous material leaks or dioxin contamination are thought to have occurred in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. Tests will target dioxins and 25 regulated hazardous soil contaminants including PCBs and chromium compounds. Seawater and seafloor: Tests will take place at three locations each on seven traverse lines in the ocean off the Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima coasts. Tests will target oil content and hazardous substances including PCBs, 1,2-dichloroethene, and dioxins.
39. Hosaka TA. Japan Disaster's Other Hidden Danger: Asbestos. Associated Press via msnbc.com, Asia-Pacific section (27 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/5t3ycgs [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
40. Ministry of the Environment. Results of the Preliminary Survey of Asbestos Concentration in the Air. Tokyo, Japan:Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan (27 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3k69wkc [accessed 9 Jun 2011]. According to the report, the concentration of asbestos fibers in the air at 15 disaster-impacted locations in Ibaraki, Miyagi, and Fukushima ranged from 0.08 fibers per liter to 0.90 fibers per liter.
41. Sendai Environment Department. A Survey of the Amount of Hazardous Material Content in Areas Flooded by the Tsunami Has Been Conducted. Sendai, Japan:Environment Management Section, Sendai Environment Department (28 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3sjxl4r [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
42. Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management. Chemical Characteristics of Tsunami Sludge Samples Collected in Sendai, Second Report: Oil Content and POPs. Tokyo, Japan:Disaster Waste Management and Reconstruction Task Team, Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management (19 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3b958dl [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
43. Japan Environmental Measurement and Chemical Analysis Association. Regarding the Volunteer Environmental Analysis Related to the 2011 Tohoku Disaster. Tokyo, Japan:Japan Environmental Measurement and Chemical Analysis Association (1 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3dopx54 [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
44. Bird WA. Firsthand observation, Ishinomaki and Minamisanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture (10-14 Apr 2011).
45. Industrial Safety and Health Act of 1972 (Japan). Article 22, Article 28-2 (1), Article 59 (1). Act No. 57 of 8 Jun 1972. Lawyer Naoki Ikeda said that case law has established that simply providing personal protective equipment or instructing workers to use it is not enough; the employer also needs to make clear the potential health consequences of not using the equipment.
46. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Important Notes for Safely Handling Debris in the Disaster Area. Tokyo, Japan:Health and Safety Division, Labor Standards Department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Government of Japan (22 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/42hsaav [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
47. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 70,000 Additional Respiratory Masks for Reconstruction Work Following the Tohoku Disaster Distributed to Labour Bureaus. Tokyo, Japan:Health and Safety Division, Labour Standards Department, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Government of Japan (11 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3vdl4ge [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
48. Miyagi Labour Bureau. Regarding the Implementation of Safety and Health Patrols at Debris Cleanup Sites in the Disaster Zone. Sendai, Japan:Miyagi Labour Bureau, Government of Japan (27 Apr 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/4xgvt9d [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
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51. Bird WA. Interviews with Goto Shiichiro, Japan National Council of Social Welfare, an umbrella organization coordinating volunteer work in the Tohoku region (26 Apr 2011), and Misuzu Asari, assistant professor at Kyoto University's Environmental Preservation Center, who has been spent extensive time in the disaster area and is now creating a manual for volunteers involved in the cleanup (30 Apr 2011).
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61. See, for example, the work of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade in response to ongoing oil refinery and petrochemical plant emissions, fenceline communities, and the Deepwater Horizon disaster: Louisiana Bucket Brigade. New Orleans, LA:Louisiana Bucket Brigade (updated 9 Jun 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/3a8ylsy [accessed 9 Jun 2011].
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