Ten out of 59 people tested who live in areas surrounding garbage incinerators in Saitama and Osaka prefectures have daily dioxin intakes in excess of the government-recognized tolerable daily intake (TDI) for the carcinogens, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The Environmental Agency survey covered 29 people living near garbage incinerators in Nose, Osaka Prefecture, and five municipalities including Tokorozawa in Saitama Prefecture. The other 30 people included in the research live two or more kilometers away from the facilities in the same areas.
Four picograms of dioxins per kilogram of body weight is the maximum daily intake believed to be safe. One picogram is one-trillionth of a gram.
The covered areas are thought by some to have high dioxin concentrations due to garbage-incinerator emissions. Officials, however, deny the link, blaming food for more than 90 percent of the people's dioxin intake.
"We believe that those whose intake surpassed the TDI ate fish and meat that contained high concentrations of dioxin," one of the officials said. "We cannot simply compare their intake level with the TDI because the survey covered only a short period."
The survey was conducted in November and December last year and measured the amount of dioxin contained in soil and air, both outside and inside the people's houses. Their meals were also analyzed, the agency officials said.
Of the 10 people with an excessive intake, seven were Osaka Prefecture residents and three were Saitama Prefecture residents. All but one of the Osaka people at risk were from the group of subjects who live farther from the incinerators.
By areas, the average amount of dioxin intake per kilogram of body weight was 2.7 picograms in people living near incinerators in Saitama Prefecture, and 1.8 picograms in those living in other Saitama areas. The amount for those near incinerators in Osaka Prefecture's Nose was 2.1 picograms, against 2.8 picograms for those in other areas of the town.
In June, a government panel lowered the maximum tolerable intake level of dioxins from 10 to 4 picograms.
A bill enacted in July also adopted the lowered level.
Mainichi
Daily News
