Japan's New dioxin standards

[John Visher <visherjc@crisscross.com>]

http://www.mainichi.co.jp/english/news/archive/199911/07/opinion.html

Sunday, November 7, 1999

         New dioxin standards

         Mainichi Shimbun

         New standards for dioxin levels in the air, water and soil as
well as
         emissions from small incinerators have been proposed by a
         government panel. The recommendations are based on legislation
that
         was passed in July to set limits on dioxin emissions and punish

         polluters. It will come into effect in January 2000.

         The law sets the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of dioxins for
humans at
         no more than 4 picograms per kilogram of body weight. A
picogram
         (pg) is one-trillionth of a gram. To achieve this, dioxin
levels are
         limited to 0.6 pg per cubic meter in the atmosphere, 1.0 pg per
liter of
         water and 1,000 pg per gram of soil.

         The new standards signal the start of a full-scale program in
Japan to
         deal with the problem caused by these highly toxic chemicals.
Doubts
         about its effectiveness remain, however, and public anxiety
runs high.

         Particularly worrisome is the rather liberal standard set for
dioxin
         levels in the soil. Virtually nowhere in Japan are levels in
excess of this
         standard, so this could easily lead to a declaration that
Japanese soil is
         free of contamination. Interestingly, though, all areas found
to contain
         at least 250 pg of dioxins per gram of soil - a fourth of the
proposed
         standard - will be kept under surveillance. Why, we are led to
         wonder, was the standard not set at this more stringent level?

         A separate standard for farm soil was put off for the time
being on the
         grounds that dioxins are not absorbed by plant roots. And no
special
         consideration was given to playgrounds and other areas where
         children play.

         The Environment Agency contends that by meeting these
standards,
         the amount of dioxins the public is exposed to will be kept
below the
         4 pg limit established by law. There will inevitably be those
who are
         exposed to higher levels, though; keeping track would have been

         easier had specific standards been established for fish, meat
and
         vegetables.

         A Health and Welfare Ministry survey revealed that sea bass and

         conger eel have particularly high dioxin concentrations. We are
told
         by nutritionists that the key to a healthy lifestyle is a
balanced diet, but
         unless we are given greater details about contamination in the
waters
         where fish and shellfish are caught, we cannot protect
ourselves from
         exposure to toxic chemicals.

         Breast milk is another big problem, since most breast-fed
newborns
         get around 20 times the tolerable intake of dioxins. The Health
and
         Welfare Ministry assures us that since the feeding period is
short, this
         should not cause any health problems. The explanation is hardly

         enough to dispel the concern many young mothers harbor.

         Some are calling for a separate dioxin standard for breast
milk.
         Mothers worried about dioxin levels in their breast milk should
be
         allowed to undergo tests on a preferential basis, and they
should be
         taught what foods are relatively free of contamination.

         Stiffer regulations for waste incineration have reduced dioxin
         emissions considerably, but the volume is still higher than in
other
         industrial countries. Concentrations found at the bottoms of
bodies of
         water - and in marine life found there - are particularly high.

         Some experts say the TDI should be set lower. The Environment
         Agency plans to hold public hearings over a month on the new
         standards, and some adjustments will inevitably become
necessary.
         On our part as well, we must do what we can to reduce the
volume of
         waste we produce.

                                 From the Mainichi Shimbun, Nov. 5