Before they broadcast a special report on the risks posed by dioxins in vegetables on Feb 1, the executives at TV Asahi must have anticipated that it would cause a stir. They might even have had an inkling that it would spark a health scare. But they surely never imagined in their wildest dreams the impact it would have on politics, agriculture, the media, and the government's environmental policy.
As it turned out, the story itself was flawed and many people have suffered as a result. But now that the dust has begun to settle, the broadcaster's mistake is looking like one of the best things to happen to the environment and health in Japan in years.
The Asahi report, aired on the popular News Station programme, anchored by Hiroshi Kume, claimed to have found dangerously high levels of dioxin in spinach and green tea leaves grown near a waste incineration plant in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. It was not the first story in Japan warning of the dangers of these carcinogenic pollutants, but none of the previous reports impressed themselves on the public consciousness like this one. The price of Tokorozawa agricultural products, plummeted, consumers expressed fears about other products and the government promised to take action.
Farmers complained that TV Asahi's method of data collection was inaccurate and further studies revealed that the dioxin in the spinach and green tea leaves was within safe limits. Kume was forced to apologise on air and the station's news director resigned. This scandal, however, doubled the news value of the story, making it not only an environmental health matter, but a political, legal, and economic issue. The Diet, Japan's parliament, launched a debate on the subject, and rival news organisations have taken every opportunity to rub salt into TV Asahi's wounds.
But many media reports have spelt out the dangers: dioxins are carcinogenic and they have also been linked to lower sperm counts, learning disabilities, endometriosis, and suppression of the immune system. The public is also more aware now of the fact that concentrations of airborne dioxins in Japan are higher than in other developed nations--apparently because of the nation's reliance on incinerators to deal with waste.
On March 22, the lead story in the Asahi newspaper revealed that a worker at a disposal plant in Nose, Osaka Prefecture, had 805·8 pg of dioxin per gram of body fat, 40 times the international average. The worker, Mitsuo Takeoka, who has twice had surgery for cancer, has demanded compensation for the damage to his health. Other claims are likely as most of the nation's 260 000 waste incineration plant employees have worked for years with little or no protection. The uproar has also spurred the government into action. Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi established and chaired a panel to look into the issue, and last month, the cabinet approved a 35-point guideline to address public concerns. The panel established a target to cut dioxin emissions by 90% within 4 years, to begin cutting household waste within 6 months, and to establish a new tolerable daily intake (TDI) of dioxin within 3 months. At present, the economic ministry recommends a TDI of 5 pg/kg of bodyweight, but the health and welfare ministry says 10 pg/kg. Considering the current climate of opinion, the new standard is likely to be closer to the 1-4 pg TDI recommended by the WHO.
Greater powers have also been given to local authorities to allow them to punish incineration plants that fail to meet the new standards. Government surveys will also be made of dioxin concentrations in rivers, lakes, the ocean, and in the blood of disposal-plant workers. Earlier this month, the National Police Agency issued orders for regional forces to crackdown on "environmental crimes", including illegal-dumping operations carried out by organised-crime groups, such as the Yakuza.
There are still gaps in the plans, notably the absence of clear standards for dioxins in food. But more progress has been made within the past 2 months than in the previous 10 years, all largely thanks to the TV Asahi controversy. The broadcaster would do well to reflect on its report and how it covers potential health scares in the future. But if there was ever an opportunity to learn from a mistake, this is it.
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