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During
the 1930s, the Chisso company set up operations in the area. The
company, which made acetyl-aldehyde (used in manufacturing plastic
materials), dumped its mercury waste into the rivers, contaminating
the fish. Since the disease takes several years to develop, it
was not until 1956 that the first cases began to appear. Hospitals
received patients with the same symptoms: brain and nervous system
disorders causing numbness in the limbs, muscle weakness, visual
impairments, speech difficulties, paralysis, and deformities,
even leading to death.
At first the health authorities believed that it was some kind
of epidemic, but cats began to present diseases with similar characteristics.
It was not until ten years later that the doctors discovered the
cause: mercury contamination in fish, the staple for the local
population's diet. According to estimates, the company dumped
from 200 to 600 tons of methyl mercury into the local bay. After
several long and drawn-out legal battles, the company was forced
to compensate the victims, but the results of the contamination
have persisted to this day.
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