61362    Based on the very painful experience of the Minamata Disease over forty some years, it can be said that the level of technology developed by Japan for analyzing the effects of organic mercury on the natural environment and the human body is the highest in the world.

61363    While some may have mixed feelings about such collaborations abroad when patient identification and compensation issues concerning the Minamata Disease are still unresolved at home, Japan's experience in epidemiological surveys and medical care must be made available at all costs to cure mercury poisoning and to keep it from spreading.

61364    The Madeira River, which runs through the suburbs of Porto Velho in the Brazilian state of Rondonia upstream of the Amazon River, has witnessed the gold rush since 1978.

61365    Dreaming of making a quick fortune, garimpeiros or wildcat miners started to use mercury as an agent to separate alluvial gold from the mud in the riverbed.

61366    The amount of mercury dumped in the water, including tributaries such as the Tapajos River and Negro River, at approximately 2,000 sites where gold has been collected is said to be anywhere between 1,800 and 2,000 tons.

61367    It is feared that 55 to 60 percent of the mercury could have been vaporized, bringing the inorganic mercury poisoning to the gold diggers.

61368    There are strong suspicions that 40 to 45 percent of the mercury was dumped into the river, turned from inorganic mercury to organic mercury through the biological reaction with the humic materials in leaf molds and microorganisms, became concentrated and accumulated in fish, and which, in turn, was brought into the bodies of residents along the coast who ate the fish, as was the case with the Minamata Disease in Japan.

61369    According to the studies conducted by the National Institute of Amazon Research and physicians at state hospitals, a dangerous level of mercury exceeding the safety standard defined by the World Health Organization has been found in the hair and blood of gold diggers and fishing people.

61370    At the inaugural international conference, it was reported that the risk of mercury contamination through a similar route as in the case of the Amazon River could occur in many countries.

61371    With the nerve disorder caused by methyl mercury in particular, recovery is difficult and therefore local epidemiological study and medical care must be made available quickly.

61372    The immediate task is to accurately obtain the amount of the total mercury and methyl mercury in water, soil, fish and human hair, blood and urine using the analytical method developed by the National Institute for Minamata Disease.

61373    During this conference, it was decided to establish a common standard for the analytical method and collection of samples under the leadership of Japan.

61374    It is our hope to contribute to the humanitarian international cooperation that transcends borders while always keeping in mind the suffering of the Minamata Disease victims.

61375    In advance of the intergovernmental cooperation, we wish to make special mention of the private organizations and citizens who made explorations into the Amazon and getting a head-start on investigations and research, including Masazumi Harada, Assistant Professor at the University of Kumamoto, Tadashi Fujino MD of the Minamata Kyoritsu Hospital, Junko Nakanishi, Professor at the Center for Environmental Safety in the University of Tokyo, the National Liaison Conference of Minamata Disease Victims and Defense Counsel, and other concerned parties.

61376    The activities of non-governmental organizations are also alive and well in Japan.