Current Situation of Groundwater Pollution in the 2020s

Current Situation of Groundwater Pollution in the 2020s

In the 2020s, groundwater pollution in Japan has worsened further, especially in urban and industrial areas. Areas such as Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture, Ichihara City in Chiba Prefecture, and Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture have confirmed cases of groundwater contamination caused by chemical factories and manufacturing industries. Major pollutants include hexavalent chromium, trichloroethylene (TCE), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), all of which pose high health risks, including carcinogenic...

Hexavalent Chromium Pollution
In Kawaguchi City, hexavalent chromium pollution in groundwater continues to be a problem, with concentrations exceeding the standard of 0.05 mg/L, reaching 0.45 mg/L in some industrial areas. The source of the pollution is attributed to wastewater from metal processing industries, particularly from companies like Kawaguchi Metal Industries, which failed to properly treat their wastewater.

Trichloroethylene (TCE) Pollution
In Ichihara City, trichloroethylene discharged by chemical industries has worsened groundwater pollution. A 2022 survey found TCE concentrations of 5.0 mg/L in groundwater, more than 10 times the standard limit, endangering the safety of drinking water. Companies like ENEOS Holdings and Showa Denko are responsible, and while they are working on improving wastewater treatment technologies, cleanup is expected to take significant time and cost.

Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Pollution
Additionally, a newly emerging concern is groundwater pollution from "forever chemicals" such as PFOA. In Amagasaki City, PFOA from manufacturing industries has been detected in groundwater, with concentrations exceeding the standard of 0.3 μg/L and reaching 0.7 μg/L. This substance easily accumulates in the human body, causing health concerns such as cancer and endocrine disruption, leading to growing anxiety among local residents.

Countermeasures and Challenges
The Ministry of the Environment has strengthened its monitoring system for groundwater pollution and introduced new regulations to impose stricter penalties on companies. ENEOS Holdings has implemented advanced water treatment technologies as part of its groundwater purification project, but the scale of the pollution presents technical and resource challenges. In Ichihara City, bioremediation technologies, using microorganisms to naturally cleanse the soil and groundwater, have been introduced, but a l...

Overall, groundwater pollution remains a significant problem in many regions of Japan in the 2020s, with an urgent need to remove hazardous chemicals and strengthen monitoring systems.