space Press Releases, News Stories

The Japan Times

TOKYO, Japan, 20 April 2002 -- The Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced Friday that it has decided to offer the national government a piece of reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay for the construction of a disposal facility for PCBs. The plant will dispose of the chemical waste from the metropolis and neighboring regions, including Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures, according to metropolitan government officials. The decision, in response to a request from the national government, is seen as a goodwill gesture to its neighbors as Tokyo has long been criticized for producing industrial and other hazardous wastes that were often shipped to surrounding prefectures. The facility, to be constructed on a 3-hectare plot, is designed to detoxify polychlorinated biphenyl by using sodium hydroxide and a catalyst, which turn the toxic materials into water, salt and harmless oil. It will be run by a national government-affiliated entity and is scheduled to start operations in fiscal 2004. PCB, a carcinogen and endocrine disrupter, was widely used in insulation materials for electric appliances during Japan's postwar economic growth. The material has been banned since it was identified as a health hazard some 30 years ago.

Disposal of PCBs has been a headache for authorities for years. During a regular news conference Friday, Gov. Shintaro Ishihara also suggested that the new facility could deal with PCB waste from U.S. military bases in the Kanto area. "There are large quantities of PCBs piled up at U.S. bases, with some reports of leaks, like the one at Yokota Air Base," Ishihara said. "Without the waste being disposed of, people in Tokyo cannot live in peace."

Metropolitan officials said, however, that they had not previously considered plans to handle PCBs from U.S. bases, adding that it would be necessary to first discuss the matter with the national government.