Itai-itai disease (イタイイタイ病, itai-itai byō?, lit. "ouch-ouch sickness"), was the documented case of mass cadmium poisoning in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, starting around 1912. The cadmium poisoning caused softening of the bones and kidney failure. The disease is named for the severe pains (Japanese: 痛い itai) caused in the joints and spine. The term "itai-itai disease" was coined by locals. The cadmium was released into rivers by mining companies in the mountains. The mining companies were successfully sued for the damage. Itai-itai disease is known as one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.
Read more about Itai-itai Disease: Cause, Symptoms, Legal Action, Economic Costs
Famous quotes containing the word disease:
“And this disease that was Swann’s love had so multiplied, it was so intimately tied to all of Swann’s habits, to all his acts, to his thoughts, to his health, to his sleep, to his life, even to what he desired for his afterlife, his love was so much a part of him that it could not be extracted from him without destroying him entirely: as is said in surgery, his love was inoperable.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)