Poison piling up on a quiet island Memories of the Teshima Incident, 1975-2022

Poison piling up on a quiet island Memories of the Teshima Incident, 1975-2022

Teshima is a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, Kagawa Prefecture. Invisible poison began to accumulate on this quiet island around 1975. Waste oil, acid, solvents, and other industrial waste brought in by Hyogo Prefecture contractors were dumped haphazardly into the rich natural environment, sometimes by open burning. Black smoke covered the island, and a foul odor became the order of the day. The administration, however, remained silent about the unusual situation.

In 1990, they filed a lawsuit against the Kagawa prefectural government, claiming that the government had tacitly approved illegal dumping. The fight against the government, the prefecture, and the industrial waste contractors soon attracted nationwide attention, and the voices of the residents began to create a silent ripple effect.

In 2000, a settlement was finally reached between Kagawa Prefecture and the residents. The prefecture accepted responsibility and promised to transport the industrial waste to the island of Naoshima on the opposite shore for incineration and recycling. This was not an easy task. The total amount of waste, including not only waste but also contaminated soil and groundwater, amounted to approximately 910,000 tons. The process was carried out at MMC's facilities with great skill and time.

The complete treatment of the waste will not be completed until 2022, nearly half a century after the incident was discovered. Public funds spent during that time amounted to several tens of billions of yen. The island, once a place where people lived a peaceful life, has begun to take a new step forward as a symbol of environmental revitalization. In January 2018, 85 tons of sludge was discovered on the site where the waste had been removed. Traces of contamination have reappeared on the land that was supposed to have been treated, and the method of disposal is currently being carefully examined.

This incident has had a major impact on waste management in Japan. The case has had a major impact on Japan's waste administration: tighter regulations on illegal dumping, the introduction of a traceability system, and revisions to the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law. All of these measures are based on the lessons learned from the Teshima Incident. Above all, the persistent campaign by the local residents illuminated the way to win environmental justice.

The island, once submerged in poison, now poses a quiet question to visitors under the banner of art and the renewal of nature.

[Related Information.
Records and chronology by the residents can be found on the official website of Teshima Island School.
The official website of Kagawa Prefecture provides details on the progress of the process and administrative response.
At the "Teshima Kokoro Museum" located on the site, records of the residents' movement and actual specimens of the waste are on display.