Although it has been one year since PFOA contamination of tap water was discovered in Kibichuo Town, it is unclear which company handed over the PFOA-containing activated carbon that caused the contamination to Man-ei Industry, a local activated carbon recycling company. This is because the Ministry of the Environment, Okayama Prefecture, and the town have all pushed the responsibility for dealing with the contamination onto each other, and have not attempted to find out how the contamination occurred.

Tansa obtained testimony from the former president of Man-ei Industry and others, who said that there were two major companies that may have provided PFOA-containing activated carbon: Osaka Gas Chemicals and Kuraray.

What explanation did the two companies give? Tansa will examine the results of multiple written exchanges in two parts.

The dangers have been known since the 2000s

Let’s review how PFOA got into tap water.

1. The company that generated waste hands over PFOA-containing activated carbon to Man-ei Industry.

 

2. Man-ei Industry has been leaving PFOA-containing activated carbon in the town’s property ward since 2008.

 

3. A large amount of PFOA leaks from activated carbon containing PFOA left in the property ward.

 

4. The leaked PFOA travels through soil, streams, and rivers to the Kawahira Dam.

 

5. Water is taken from the Kawahira Dam at the Enjo Water Purification Plant, which supplies it to the  Enjo area of Kibichuo Town.

Although only Man-ei Industry is being held responsible so far for the second part, the source companies in the first part are also responsible.

Around 2000, the global community became aware of PFOA’s risks, and in 2006, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urged all PFOA manufacturers, including Japanese companies, to eradicate the chemical by 2015. An international treaty called for the substance’s eradication in 2019, and Japan also banned its import and manufacture in 2021. As a source company, it must verify that PFOA has been disposed of and warn Man-ei Industry about its risks.

As a company that generates PFOA, the company’s failure to fulfill its responsibility to prevent pollution led to the current contamination of tap water.

According to the testimony of the former president of Man-ei Industry

Clues about the source company were obtained through interviews with people related to Man-ei Industry.

A person who worked at Man-ei Industry’s Kibichuo headquarters during the time the property ward was in use and who knows the company’s clients testified as follows.

“We received used activated carbon from the Kansai region, including Okayama and Osaka. One of our major clients was Kuraray.”

Kuraray is a chemical manufacturer founded in Okayama Prefecture in 1926. Currently, the company manufactures and sells resins, chemicals, textiles, and water treatment systems. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, but has a research center in Kurashiki and the country’s largest manufacturing plant in Okayama. One of its businesses is the handling of activated carbon.

Former president of Man-ei Industry, Shigenobu Maeda, also responded to the interview.

Shigenobu Maeda was president when the town and the property ward signed a lease agreement in 2007. Even now, after stepping down from his position as president, he remains involved with Man-ei Industry as an executive and the largest shareholder.

Shigenobu Maeda acknowledged that he had received PFOA-containing activated carbon from Osaka Gas Chemicals, in addition to Kuraray. Both companies are major domestic companies engaged in the activated carbon business.

“To be honest, I think activated carbon containing PFOA is handed to us by our business partners.”

Osaka Gas Chemicals is a subsidiary of Osaka Gas, which is part of the Daigas Group, which is involved in the energy business. It has an activated carbon division and is engaged in the manufacture and sale of activated carbon.

The company is also listed as Man-ei Industry’s largest trading partner in documents from Teikoku Databank and Tokyo Shoko Research, credit research companies that investigate and provide corporate information.

Questions to President Takeshi Sakakitani 

Tansa sent questionnaires to both companies and had exchanges with them.

First, let’s examine the exchange with Osaka Gas Chemicals.

The questionnaire was addressed to President and CEO Takeshi Sakakitani. Each time, the response came from the Human Resources and General Affairs Department and the Public Relations Department.

First question was whether they were aware of the high levels of PFOA contamination in the tap water in Kibichuo Town.

We became aware of this through news reports around November 2023.

Next, I asked whether they were aware that it was Man-ei Industry that caused the pollution.

We are aware that the name of Man-ei Industry has been mentioned in some reports.

However, the major media have not reported on Man-ei Industry to date. When and which media report did they read?

We became aware of Man-ei Industry because its name appeared in the online news website “kyoto-seikei” dated November 26, 2023.

When asked whether they had received any contact from Man-ei Industry, they replied as follows.

We have received a message from Man-ei Industry regarding this news report.

In short, Osaka Gas Chemicals learned about the contamination from an online news article from a website called “kyoto-seikei.” They were also informed by their business partner, Man-ei Kogyo, that there had been a report about the contamination.

Remaining possible sources of contamination

The key question is whether the PFOA-containing activated carbon that caused the contamination was delivered to Man-ei Industry by Osaka Gas Chemicals.

When we undertake an activated carbon regeneration contract with our customers, we check to see if the materials contain any PRTR-controlled substances, including PFOA, that exceed our acceptance standards. However, there has been no confirmed case of PFOA being present to date.

 

Furthermore, we have not been able to confirm that the activated carbon was outsourced by our company.

What does this mean? Osaka Gas Chemicals is now involved in the activated carbon recycling business in the following steps.

1. Accepts used activated carbon from other companies

 

2. Checks whether harmful chemical substances such as PFOA (PRTR controlled substances) are contained in the products in excess of Osaka Gas Chemicals’ acceptance standards.

 

3. After confirming the above, the processing of the activated carbon to make it usable again will be outsourced to another company.

The third part’s subcontractor is Man-ei Industry. Osaka Gas Chemicals suggests that they would never give Man-ei Industry activated carbon that would cause contamination because they have confirmed in the second part that the PFOA does not exceed the standard.

However, what is contradictory is that they also responded, “we have not been able to confirm that the activated carbon was outsourced by our company.” Why can’t they respond, “We have confirmed that the activated carbon that caused the contamination was not outsourced by our company?”

I asked again about the PFOA-containing activated carbon that was the cause of the contamination.

There is no record to show that the “PFOA-containing activated carbon that caused this contamination” was activated carbon commissioned by our company, and it is therefore unclear whether the activated carbon in question contains PFOA.

Ultimately, all they are saying is that the PFOA concentration is often examined prior to the product being re-consigned. They claim that it is unknown whether the contaminated activated carbon was given to Man-ei Industry because there are no records.

Nevertheless, this leaves open the possibility that the activated carbon delivered by the company could be the source of contamination. Was this a conclusion reached after confirmation both within Osaka Gas Chemicals and at Man-ei Industry? When asked again, the company responded as follows.

When we checked our internal records, we found no records indicating that the activated carbon was outsourced by our company. We have also confirmed that Man-ei Industry cannot confirm that the activated carbon was outsourced by our company.

“We have confirmed that it cannot be confirmed.” Is it really okay to dismiss an investigation into the serious issue of water contamination so quickly with this logic? Were the people in charge at the time questioned? It is hard to believe that the investigation was thorough.

To be continued.

In Kibichuo Town, Okayama Prefecture (photo by Nanami Nakagawa on June 24, 2024.)

(Originally published in Japanese on October 15, 2024. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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