Mainichi Daily News

Thursday, September 23, 1999

Osaka police raid firm for illegal dumping

By Nao Yamamoto
Mainichi Shimbun

Police on Wednesday raided an Osaka industrial-waste disposal business and dozens of other locations on suspicion that the
company illegally dumped at least 140 tons of industrial waste in
mountainous areas in western Japan.

Police said they searched Maruichi Shoten in Osaka's Kita-ku,
an unnamed shipping agency and waste-disposal sites for related evidence of the illegal dumping scheme covering an extensive area around the Inland Sea.

Maruichi Shoten, according to police, transported industrial
waste from Osaka to four locations in Ehime, Tokushima, and Hyogo
prefectures in early August. The company used an unlicensed
shipping agent for transportation and unauthorized disposal sites for
dumping.

Under the Wastes Disposal and Public Cleaning Law, industrial sludge must be disposed of after lowering the toxicity by dehydration and incineration at special facilities.
Maruichi Shoten operates no such disposal facilities and
disposed ofwaste at half the average price by illegally dumping, police
said.

Usually industrial waste disposal businesses receive about
15,000 yen to dry and incinerate 1 ton of waste.

In Wednesday's raids, investigators even questioned officials
at Iyo City Hall, Ehime Prefecture, who allegedly failed to detect
toxicity contained in sludge dumped by Maruichi Shoten in a disposal
site. Worrying about increasing illegal waste dumping and
environmentally
harmful incineration, prefectural police headquarters across
the nation have been stepping up their investigations into such crimes.