Water Pollution That Could Have Been Prevented / The Ministry of the Environment Overlooks a Loophole in the Waste Disposal Act [Kibichuo, OkayamaPart 17]
2025.01.12 12:48 Nanami Nakagawa
The PFOA pollution in Kibichuo Town was caused by a company that left PFOA-containing activated carbon in the open for 15 years. The activated carbon was handed by companies outside of town to Man-ei Industry, a Kibichuo-based company that recycles activated carbon.
The fact that PFOA is a toxic substance is known not just to the companies that manufacture and use it, but also by the government. In 2021, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry prohibited its production and import. The goal is to remove PFOA from the environment, and it must be disposed of as industrial waste.
So why was activated carbon containing PFOA left lying around in Kibichuo Town for so many years? Isn’t that a violation of the Waste Disposal Act?
I interviewed the Ministry of the Environment, which is responsible for waste management administration.
Whether it’s “waste” or “material” is up to the company
On December 27, 2023, just before the end of the year, Tansa’s editor-in-chief, Makoto Watanabe, and I visited the Waste Management Division of the Ministry of the Environment in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo.
As the name suggests, this division handles general waste-related work. It is responsible for providing guidance on how to handle and dispose of waste, as well as taking measures against illegal dumping. We sent an interview request saying, “We want to clarify who is responsible for the PFOA contamination problem in Kibichuo Town.”
Three officials attended the interview.
Takuya Kirikawa (Assistant Manager)
Toshinori Mihara (Assistant Manager)
Motoharu Yatani
I asked what kind of communication the Waste Management Division has had with Okayama Prefecture and Kibichuo Town since the contamination was discovered.
However, their response was, “We haven’t received any inquiries yet.” I had a bad feeling.
When asked why the Waste Management Division has not taken any action, they responded as follows:
“If there is an intention to dispose of it as ‘waste,’ then we will treat it as ‘waste,’ but activated carbon itself is usually recycled and used, so it becomes a ‘material.’ In that case, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will be in charge and will properly handle it as a ‘material.'”
Essentially, they are claiming that,
・The used activated carbon disposed by Man-ei Industry is not “waste” but “material.”
・If used activated carbon is considered “waste,” it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Environment, but if it is considered “material,” it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
・Therefore, this matter is outside the scope of the Ministry of the Environment’s Waste Management Division.
Who then decides that they intend to discard anything as “waste”? Who determines what constitutes “waste” and what standards are applied when determining whether something qualifies as “material” or not?
“Whether used activated carbon is treated as ‘waste’ or ‘material’ is up to the owner of the activated carbon to decide.”
“Who the owner is a contract between the companies.”
This means that the companies themselves can make the decision. In the case of Kibichuo Town, the decision is left to the discretion of Man-ei Industry and its business partners.
Although the abolition of PFOA has been established by international treaty
Is it really acceptable to leave the important decision of whether or not something is subject to the Waste DIsposal Act up to companies?
First and foremost, PFOA is a dangerous toxin that was mandated to be “eliminated” in 2019 by the Stockholm Convention, an international convention that Japan has also ratified. This was due to its high toxicity and persistence, both of which have negative impacts on the human body. Following this designation, its production and import were prohibited in Japan in 2021.
If it is not treated as waste, it will undoubtedly contribute to additional pollution. In fact, it has resulted in the worst-case situation of contaminated tap water in Kibichuo Town.
On the other hand, if it were considered waste, it would be disposed of in accordance with the Waste Disposal Act. The source of the waste, the transport company, the receiving company, and the final disposal party must be clearly identified and notified to the local government. This pollution could have been prevented.
The Environment Minister leaves it all to Okayama Prefecture
If the decision of whether something is “waste” or “material” is left to companies, what is the Ministry of the Environment’s role in preventing PFOA contamination?
Assistant section chief Kirikawa mentioned responding to inquiries from private companies.
In recent years, there has been an upsurge in questions from private companies asking, “I have waste containing PFOA, what should I do?” In response, the Waste Management Division has referred to the instructions it issued in September 2022, “Technical Notes on the Treatment of Waste Containing PFOS and PFOA,” and instructed people to use the techniques outlined therein, such as incineration at high temperatures. If prefectures seek advice, the division will provide it.
If this is all it does, then the Ministry of the Environment is essentially useless in combating PFOA pollution.
The Ministry of the Environment was also criticized in the Diet over PFOA contamination in Kibichuo Town.
On February 8, 2024, Takeshi Miyamoto (Communist Party) raised this issue at the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
He began by saying, “Shocking concentrations of PFOA have been detected in tap water in Kibichuo Town, Okayama Prefecture,” and went on to name Man-ei Industry as the source of the contamination.
“When Okayama Prefecture investigated the source of the contamination, they found a storage space along a wide agricultural road marked Oku-Kibi Kaido, which is run by Man-ei Industry, a company that manufactures and processes activated carbon. There, they found a mountain of used activated carbon stored in Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers.”
Miyamoto read out the detected PFOA levels and asked Environment Minister Shintaro Ito, “Minister, is it acceptable for levels to be 91,000 or 15,000 times the standard value? I would like to hear your thoughts on this.”
Minister Ito’s response was just one word.
“It is extremely regrettable that PFOA was detected in quantities far exceeding the standard value.”
In response to Ito’s answer, Miyamoto said:
“When you look at this, it’s clear that this is not an issue that can be left to Okayama Prefecture.”
Miyamoto also asked where the PFOA-containing activated carbon that Man-ei Industry had undertaken came from.
“This highly contaminated activated carbon is the source of contamination, and Okayama Prefecture is saying that this activated carbon may be the cause, but does the Ministry of the Environment have any idea where it came from?”
It is highly likely that the companies that handed the waste over to the company considered it to be materials, not waste. This is an important question, since it allows them to avoid the regulations of the Waste Disposal Act. However, Minister Ito responded as follows:
“Regarding the activated carbon you mentioned, we have been told by Okayama Prefecture that its origin is unknown.”
He continued:
“The Ministry of the Environment will continue to work with Okayama Prefecture to gather information.”
The head of the Ministry of the Environment has maintained an attitude of leaving it up to the prefecture. How will Okayama Prefecture, which has been left to its own devices, deal with the issue?
To be continued.
(Originally published in Japanese on September 17, 2024. Translation by Mana Shibata.)
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