Tighter Regulations for Stable Final Disposal Sites: Environmental Risks and the State Moved Invisible Underground in the 1990s (1994)

Tighter Regulations for Stable Final Disposal Sites: Environmental Risks and the State Moved Invisible Underground in the 1990s (1994)
Around 1994, the premise of Japan's system of stable final disposal facilities was crumbling. Originally, they were supposed to be low-risk facilities where only chemically stable wastes such as scrap metal and glass could be buried, and they were operated under a system that did not require impervious facilities. In reality, however, unauthorized sludge, incinerator ash, and wastes containing oil and organic matter were being mixed in, and chemical substances that came into contact with rainwater leaked into groundwater in a series of cases across the country. Residents became aware of the contamination from the strange odor and turbidity of the well water, and denounced the situation through health concerns, requests for information disclosure, and monitoring of delivery trucks.

At the time, the recession that followed the bursting of the bubble economy made cutting treatment costs a priority, and unauthorized treatment and the activities of unlicensed contractors were widespread. At disposal sites in mountainous areas where monitoring was inadequate, such improper disposal was becoming a serious environmental crime that proceeded while hidden underground. In response, the Environment Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched an urgent fact-finding survey of 100 sites nationwide and confirmed numerous violations, including the improper input of organic solvent-laden waste, waste plastics, and sludge.

The government took this as an opportunity to introduce a number of new and stricter standards, including mandatory drainage facilities, enhanced groundwater monitoring, a ban on the input of waste plastics, and strict sorting of waste with organic solvents on it. These reforms led to the revision of the Waste Disposal and Public Cleansing Law in 1997 and the strengthening of technical standards in 1998, and the assumption of safety, which had been formalized by the designation "stable type," was largely revised.