February 16, 1999

Saitama calls on incinerators to close

Asahi Shimbun

URAWA--The Saitama prefectural government Monday urged an association of
waste facilities to temporarily shut down incinerators amid a costly
boycott of
Tokorozawa vegetables, which were reportedly contaminated with dioxin.

Prefectural officials said they want more than 100 incinerators run by
industrial waste facilities in Saitama to cease operations until March
31, when the
prefecture completes its safety inspection of vegetable products.

The association said it is considering a suspension of facilities in and
around Tokorozawa on Sundays and holidays.

However, the facilities are under no obligation to follow the
prefectural government's request.

TV Asahi reported that high levels of cancer-causing dioxin were
detected in vegetables produced in Tokorozawa, where many incinerators
are located.

Following the report--whose numbers have been disputed--supermarket
chain operators and other retail stores took Tokorozawa vegetables off
their shelves
and refused to buy the produce.

Prefectural officials said the boycott has caused a 300 million yen loss
among local producers.

The Saitama government is considering measures to support local farmers.

The possible plans include loans to farmers who buy vegetable washing
machines and a program to offset farming losses caused by a drop in
market prices.

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/mdn/opi1.html

Tokorozawa dioxin scare

All consumers want to buy food that is safe to eat, and all businesses
in the food industry naturally wish to avoid handling foods that might
pose a risk to their
customers. So, after TV Asahi aired a report citing data from a research
institute indicating that vegetables grown in Tokorozawa, Saitama
Prefecture, contain
high levels of dioxin, the marketplace reacted as might be expected by
shunning produce grown not only in Tokorozawa but also in other parts of
the
prefecture.

The scare did not begin to die down until JA Tokorozawa, a local
agricultural cooperative, announced that it had conducted a test two
years ago that yielded
figures on dioxin concentrations in spinach and other vegetables which
were much lower than the figures reported on TV Asahi. By retracing the
events which
led to the dioxin scare in Tokorozawa, we can learn a number of lessons.

The television reporting focused attention on the processing of
industrial waste in Tokorozawa and forced authorities to take action.
Unfortunately, the reporting
came up short in terms of accuracy and prudence. In particular, the data
from the research institute cited by TV Asahi pointed to high
concentrations of dioxin
in agricultural products that werenﾍt vegetables. But TV Asahi reported
its story in a manner that led viewers to believe that vegetables were
the problem.

JA Tokorozawaﾍs decision not to reveal the results of its own tests
right after TV Asahiﾍs report aired also contributed to the panic.
Government officials
failed to address the scare in a timely fashion. It could have been
foreseen, because previous reports about dioxin contamination in areas
near a garbage
incineration plant in Osaka Prefecture triggered a similar panic.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Fisheries, and the Environment Agency have now agreed to conduct a
survey of
dioxin levels in Tokorozawa and its environs. The results should be
publicized as soon as possible.

Dioxin is a toxic substance that can cause a variety of illnesses
including cancer. But most Japanese are exposed to only a tiny amount of
dioxin through their
consumption of vegetables. Even if vegetables were to contain the
amounts of dioxin alleged in the television report, there is little
likelihood that consumers who
eat them would suffer immediate health problems.

Some experts now claim that the dangers of dioxin have been overblown.
We hope that the public will be able to acquire a proper understanding
of dioxinﾍs
risks so that the overreaction seen in Tokorozawa will not recur. And
steps should also be taken to encourage the formation of independent
research institutes
which can provide reliable and objective analyses of data on dioxin in
the environment.

On the other hand, efforts must also be made to reduce environmental
contamination from chemical compounds such as dioxin as much as possible
in order to
completely eliminate the risk posed to humans. The residents of
communities such as the city of Tokorozawa, which have incineration
plants that spew dioxin
into the atmosphere all day long, have reason to be concerned.

While imposing stricter rules on incineration facilities would help, the
current panic has taught us that the only fundamental solution to this
problem is to reduce
the amount of garbage that we burn by improving our garbage sorting and
recycling systems.

>From the Mainichi Shimbun, Feb. 13