Illegal Dumping at Final Disposal Sites in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, and Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture - January 2000

Illegal Dumping at Final Disposal Sites in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, and Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture - January 2000

In the Ishinomaki City of Miyagi Prefecture and surrounding areas of Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, illegal dumping of industrial waste at final disposal sites has become a serious issue. In particular, in Ishinomaki City, construction waste, including plastic and asbestos, has been illegally dumped in quantities exceeding the capacity of the disposal sites. The amount of this dumped waste has reached up to 5,000 tons annually, raising concerns among local residents about health hazards and groundwater contamination. In response, the prefecture has allocated a total of 100 million yen to investigate the soil and groundwater contamination around the disposal site.

In Morioka City, demolition contractors were found to have illegally dumped industrial waste containing dioxins and PCBs. The investigation revealed that approximately 2,000 tons of illegally dumped waste had been disposed of, with some of it even reaching coastal areas, raising concerns about the impact on the marine ecosystem.

In Miyagi Prefecture, certain construction companies have been engaged in illegal disposal practices by not properly processing waste and dumping it at disposal sites. The companies involved, anonymized as construction and industrial companies, have been accused of reducing costs by using illegal disposal routes, and they face fines of up to 50 million yen for these violations.

Furthermore, in Iwate Prefecture, it was estimated that of the 7,000 tons of industrial waste generated annually in 1999, more than 30% was illegally processed. In response, the prefecture is accelerating the introduction of a waste management system and strengthening its crackdown on illegal disposal contractors.