Kibichuo Town Mayor Masanori Yamamoto (left) and Health Section Chief Keiko Tsukada (Photo by Nanami Nakagawa on January 28, 2025)

Kibichuo Town in Okayama Prefecture has had PFOA detected in its tap water at levels 28 times higher than the national guideline. On January 28, 2025, the town released the results of a blood test for PFAS, including PFOA, conducted on its residents.

Of the 709 residents who were tested, 619, or 87%, had levels above the threshold at which action is required under guidelines adopted by the U.S. government.

Children aged 2 to 12 years were also significantly more exposed to high levels of PFOA. Of 65 children, 53 or 82% exceeded the guideline value.

A mother whose four-year-old son has been exposed to high levels of PFOA told Tansa:

“My son is showing some of the health effects of PFOA. I don’t know if PFOA is the cause, but I hope they can establish a system where he can get regular health checkups before it’s too late.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Masanori Yamamoto said, “The numbers were higher than we expected,” but added that the town has no plans to cover the costs if any illnesses caused by PFOA exposure occur.

Blood tests realized at the request of residents

PFOA contamination of tap water was discovered in Kibichuo Town in October 2023. In this town with a population of just over 10,000, 1,400 ng/L of PFOA was detected at the Enjo Water Purification Plant, which supplies water to approximately 500 households and 1,000 people.

The level was 28 times higher than the national guideline of 50 ng/L. The residents had been drinking this water on a daily basis for at least three years.

As of 2020, the town had detected 800 ng/L, 16 times the national guideline, but falsely reported it as less than 1 ng/L. The following year, 2021, it detected 1,200 ng/L, and in 2022, 1,400 ng/L, but continued to supply the water without taking any measures. In October 2023, a prefectural official noticed the high concentration.

Immediately after the contamination was discovered, the residents demanded the town to carry out blood tests. However, the town was initially hesitant, saying that even if they did tests, the results would be difficult to interpret. The “Enjo Water Purification Plant PFAS Issue Group,” made up of residents, requested a research team from Kyoto University to carry out tests. The average level of the 27 people who were tested was 171.2 ng/mL, 78 times the national average of 2.2 ng/mL published by the Ministry of the Environment.

The group has been calling for blood testing for all residents. In November 2023, they collected signatures from 1,038 residents and submitted them to Mayor Yamamoto. At the end of November 2024, more than a year after the contamination was discovered, testing was finally conducted at the town’s expense, and the results were announced two months later.

Risk of kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, etc.

Values ​​for each of the seven PFAS, including PFOA, were made public.

The test results showed that while some PFAS were present at levels below 1 ng/mL, the concentration of PFOA in tap water was overwhelmingly higher. (numbers are in ng/mL)

	PFOA	PFOS	PFHxS	PFNA	PFDA	PFUnA	NMeFOSAA
Average	135.6	8.3	0.9	3.4	1.1	2.2	0

 

Among the PFAS, PFOA is the substance that has been reported to be the most definite carcinogen. The WHO has determined that it is “carcinogenic.”

The PFOA levels of 709 Kibichuo town residents aged 2 to 102 who were tested were far higher than the national average PFOA exposure level of 2.2 ng/mL published by the Ministry of the Environment.

Average: 135.6 ng/mL, 62 times the national average

 

Median value: 109.8 ng/mL, 50 times the national average

The distribution of blood concentrations (7PFAS) of 709 people is as follows:

Less than 2 ng/mL	0.1%
2 ng/mL to less than 10 ng/mL	2.4%
10 ng/mL to less than 20 ng/mL	10.0%
20 ng/mL to less than 100 ng/mL	31.0%
100 ng/mL to less than 200ng/mL	25.7%
200 ng/mL to less than 300 ng/mL	18.1%
300 ng/mL to less than 400 ng/mL	8.3%
400 ng/mL to less than 500 ng/mL	3.2%
More than 500 ng/mL	1.1%

 

The U.S. government has adopted guidelines published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which state that “treatment which must take into account risks such as kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, and thyroid disease is necessary” for people with combined levels of seven PFAS above 20 ng/mL.

In Kibichuo Town, 619 people, or 87.4% of those tested, had levels above 20 ng/mL.

The distribution of blood concentrations (7 PFAS) of 65 children aged 2 to 12 years old is as follows:

Less than 2 ng/mL	0%
2 ng/mL to less than 10 ng/mL	1.5%
10 ng/mL to less than 20 ng/mL	16.9%
20 ng/mL to less than 100 ng/mL	29.2%
100 ng/mL to less than 200 ng/mL	35.4%
200 ng/mL to less than 300 ng/mL	15.4%
300 ng/mL to less than 400 ng/mL	0%
400 ng/mL to less than 500 ng/mL	1.5%
More than 500 ng/mL	0%

 

82%, 53 people, had levels over 20 ng/mL.

PFOA and other PFAS are known to affect young children, making them more susceptible to obesity and affecting their developing nervous system. If a mother ingests PFAS during fetal development, the baby may be born with a low birth weight.

Health effects of PFAS published by the EU Environment Agency. Excerpts of symptoms with high certainty

Outstanding figures even among other contaminated areas across Japan

The blood levels of PFAS in Kibichuo town residents are particularly high, even when compared to areas where residents have been known to be exposed to high levels of PFAS contamination.

Average of Kibichuo Town (709 people): 135.6 ng/mL

 

Average of Daikin Industries Yodogawa Plant (PFOA factory) in Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture surroundings: 101.2 ng/mL

 

Average of Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture: 33.5 ng/mL

 

Average of Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture: 32.2 ng/mL

 

Average of Tama area, Tokyo: 24.2 ng/mL

The residents must pay their medical expenses, even if there is a health effect

Mayor Yamamoto and Health Section Chief Keiko Tsukada attended the press conference announcing the test results.

Mayor Yamamoto said the results were “higher than we expected.”

He said, “In terms of health, we are still causing a lot of anxiety to local residents. Once again, I would like to apologize.” “We will continue to respond in a supportive manner to the residents.” A public information session for residents will be held on February 16th.

However, there are no concrete measures against PFOA exposure and its health effects. The administration only hopes that the government will “issue guidelines” and “deal with issues that a single local municipality cannot handle on its own.”

There are two main things the town would be conducting.

One of these is to make individual visits to residents with levels of PFOA above 500 ng/mL, including one whose level was 718.8 ng/mL, but this does not encourage them to immediately undergo health examinations.

In Osaka, the “Osaka PFAS Contamination and Health Study Group” conducted PFAS blood tests on approximately 1,200 people in response to contamination by PFOA-producing Daikin Industries. It found that Daikin employees had been exposed to 596.6 ng/mL of PFOA. Doctors from the group visit individuals who have been found to have high levels of PFOA and continue to provide follow-up medical care.

The other is the implementation of free specific health checkups and health checkups for the elderly for residents of the affected areas. However, these checkups do not include all tests for diseases caused by exposure to PFOA. How can they check the effects of PFOA exposure?

The town will inform residents that if they experience any health symptoms, they are encouraged to visit a medical institution. It also said that blood tests will be conducted in five years for follow-up, but residents are responsible for assessing the impact on their own health.

I asked Mayor Yamamoto whether the town would cover medical expenses, but he said that for now the residents have to pay the expenses themselves and that nothing more has been decided beyond that.

If the town will not cover the costs, will they ask Man-ei Industry, the company that caused the pollution, or the companies that handed over the PFOA-containing activated carbon to Man-ei Industry, to cover the costs? When asked about this, Mayor Yamamoto replied,

“It is a clear fact that activated carbon was placed there, so I will be requesting payment to Man-ei Industry.”

“We will additionally charge costs for the blood test in the future as well.”

“I’ve already made a request, but I haven’t received a proper response yet. I have to wait for that response.”

A mother’s wish 

The mother of a 4-year-old boy who was exposed to high levels of PFOA said:

” I am confused by their comment, ‘If you’re worried, go see a doctor yourself…”  “A child is small, and if he doesn’t get regular checkups, it could be too late.”

“The town also bears responsibility for supplying tap water that contains PFOA. I want them to provide regular tests for symptoms specific to PFOA that could not be detected in regular health checkups.”

(Originally published in Japanese on January 28, 2025. Translation by Mana Shibata.)

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