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Home > Featured Articles > The Minamata Convention on Mercury: A first step toward protecting future generations > The Minamata Convention on Mercury: A first step toward protecting future generations

The Minamata Convention on Mercury: A first step toward protecting future generations [1]

In July 1956, in a fishing village near the city of Minamata on Japan’s Shiranui Sea, a baby girl named Shinobu Sakamoto was born. Her parents soon realized something was wrong. At 3 months old, when healthy babies can hold up their heads, Sakamoto could not. She grew slowly and began crawling unusually late. At age 3 years, she drooled excessively and still couldn’t walk. Her parents sent her to live at a local hospital, where she spent four years in therapy to learn to walk, use her hands, and perform other basic functions. Early on, several physicians agreed on a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Yet there were signs that Sakamoto’s condition was part of something much bigger. A few years before her birth, dead fish and other sea creatures had begun appearing in Minamata Bay.

Read More: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/10/ehp.121-a304.pdf [2]

Publication Date: 
01/10/2013
Rebecca Kessler [3]
Environmental Health Perspectives [4]
121
10
A305-A309
Tags:
Mercury [5], Health Effects [6], Japan [7], Genetic Disorders [8], Industrial Pollution [9], Fossil Fuels [10], Climate Change [11], Food Contamination [12], India [13], China [14], United States Of America (US) [15], Thermal Power Plants [16], Gold [17], Mining [18], Developing Countries [19]

Technology Partners: MimirTech

Source URL: http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/minamata-convention-mercury-first-step-toward-protecting-future-generations

Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/feature-article/minamata-convention-mercury-first-step-toward-protecting-future-generations
[2] http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/10/ehp.121-a304.pdf
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/author/rebecca-kessler
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/journal/environmental-health-perspectives
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/mercury
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/health-effects
[7] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/japan
[8] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/genetic-disorders
[9] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/industrial-pollution
[10] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/fossil-fuels
[11] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/climate-change
[12] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/food-contamination
[13] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/india
[14] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/china
[15] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/united-states-america-us
[16] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/thermal-power-plants
[17] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/gold
[18] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/mining
[19] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/developing-countries