Kibichuo Town in Okayama Prefecture supplied its residents with tap water containing high concentrations of PFOA for at least three years, from 2020 to 2023.

In addition, the town initially informed the residents that it did not know the concentration levels for 2020 because it had not measured them. However, in reality, the amount detected was 800 ng/L. The town falsely reported the amount to the Japan Water Works Association as 1 ng/L, and left the situation unattended without taking any necessary measures.

The citizens’ distrust of the town increased. Only through the residents’ own actions did it become clear that data for 2020 existed and that the value had been incorrectly reported.

Kyoko Uehara (pseudonym)

On October 16, 2023, at 5:30 p.m., while feeding her 2-year-old and 6-year-old sons curry rice, her mother-in-law returned home after learning at a friend’s house that drinking tap water is prohibited. Kyoko called the town’s water department. When she asked when the chemical contamination began, the person on the phone refused to tell her, saying, “It’s not something that will have an immediate effect on your body, so it’s okay.” She demanded the water station’s opening hours be extended, but they didn’t listen.

 

Hiroshi Ogura

When he heard on the town broadcast that drinking tap water was prohibited at 5 p.m. on October 16th, he immediately contacted the town’s general affairs department. The person on the phone was unaware of the situation and provided little assistance to him. The person who answered the phone instead, General Affairs Department chief Akihiko Kataoka, did not explain the situation and simply stated that it was “bad for your health.” In response to the town’s careless attitude, he questioned at a public information session the following day, the 17th, “What’s going on with the town’s crisis management? Do you intend to protect lives?”

 

Saki Yonezawa (pseudonym), Daichi Yonezawa (pseudonym)

Their daughter, who is in the upper grades of elementary school, attends Enjo Elementary School. They were worried about the fact that she had been eating school lunches made with tap water containing high levels of PFOA for many years. They were both graduate students of science majors and were good at research. They discovered that there was a past water quality test result that the town had explained to the residents that they had not measured.

 

Junko Abe, Naoki Abe

They live with their son, who is a 7the grader in junior high school. Following the nuclear disaster in 2011, they relocated from Tokyo in search of safety and security. They built their house with non-chemical materials and built a compost bin to circulate wastewater to the fields. Their friend, Saki Yonezawa, told them of a previous water quality test result, which the town described as “not measured.” Based on this information, they discovered that the number came from the town itself, and they reported it to the water department.

So what was the cause of the contamination? It was again the residents who got closer to the truth.

“If the water is no good, let’s move”

It was at 8 p.m. on October 16, 2023, when Zensaku Yoshida learned that the tap water from the Enjo Water Purification Plant had become unsafe for drinking. He found out through a circular notice that arrived at his home and workplace in Kibichuo Town.

However, no detailed cause was written.

The first thing that came to Zensaku’s mind was the cows he raised and his family life.

Zensaku runs the Yoshida Farm in Kibichuo. He raises cattle on the tranquil plateau and sells cheese, meat, and other products nationwide.

He moved to Kibichuo 40 years ago. After graduating from Hokkaido University’s Faculty of Agriculture, he spent five years working for a company in Tokyo. But he decided to return to Okayama, where he was born and raised, and arrived in the plateau town of Kibichuo.

Setting up a new base was difficult. The most difficult thing was getting drinking water. There was no running water.

He decided to draw water from a stream 1.5 kilometers away. Together with his wife, he connected pipes every 100 meters, and finally the water reached his home and ranch.

But the problems never ceased. Even after installing a water purifier, bacteria caused stomach problems, and the water in the pipes froze in the winter.

“If the water is no good, let’s move.”

Water pipes were then built, and water from the Kawahira Dam has been supplied to the Enjo Water Purification Plant since 2005.

His wife, his son’s family who run the ranch with Zensaku, and his 50 cows all live off this water.

Zensaku Yoshida (photo by Nanami Nakagawa on February 21, 2024)

“We might have to stop raising cows”

The next day, on the 17th, Zensaku gathered his family at his workshop, where they usually process cheese and other products.

The four people who gathered were Zensaku, his wife, his son and his son’s wife.

To discuss the future of the ranch management, Zensaku had researched PFAS (PFOA, PFOS), which was mentioned in the notice.

Even if one stops taking it, it takes two to four years for the amount to be reduced by half in the human body, and six months for a cow.

Yoshida Farm’s cows have been raised with water from the Enjo Water Purification Plant. It is possible that PFAS has accumulated in cows’ bodies over the years of ingestion. It also sells aged cheese. Even if it was to change their water source immediately, it may not be able to sell their current products.

Later, Zensaku asked a research team from Kyoto University, a pioneer in PFAS research, to test all of his products, including cheese. They found that there were no problems. But at the time, the future was uncertain.

Zensaku said.

“I think there will be negative rumors in the future. We might have to stop raising cows.”

No one said a word. Zensaku also conveyed the following message to encourage the family:

“We’ve come this far together since the company was founded. I’m sure we can rebuild it from scratch.”

Still, the workshop was silent.

“Isn’t this the cause of the contamination?”

That evening, while Zensaku was wondering about the cause of the contamination, his son came in.

“Hey, look at this.”

It was Google Maps. His son said the following while displaying an actual map image using a function called “Street View.”

“There are a lot of strange things placed upstream of Kawahira Dam.”

Indeed, there was a pile of “black lump” there.

From Google Street View

Zensaku and his son immediately drove to the location, which was about a two-minute drive from the ranch.

The “black lump” was huge black bags, stacked one on top of the other.

But it was dark and they couldn’t see very well.

The next day, on the 18th, Zensaku and his son went to see the black lumps again during the day.

They couldn’t tell last night, but there seemed to be dozens, maybe hundreds, of bags.

The bag was filled with what looked like sand, but it had been torn open, exposing the contents. Something black was poking out. Some of the bags had tree branches and weeds sticking out.

His son used Google Street View to look at older images, some of which showed a sheet underneath the bag.

“The reason they put the sheet beneath is because it would be dangerous if something leaked out of the bag, right?”

“Isn’t this the cause of the contamination?”

Zensaku and his son took photos with their smartphones.

Reference: Diagram of the relative positions

To be continued.

(Originally published in Japanese on June 18, 2024. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

Polluted with PFOA: All articles