1. Overcoming air pollution through partnerships

Overview

During the 1960s, pollution from factories in the City of Kitakyushu was so serious that people said it coloured the sky all seven colors of the rainbow. The impacts on human health were severe. In Kitakushu, social assets, such as Pollution Contol Agreements played a key role in the fight against air pollution. In addition, technological assets enabled the introduction of cleaner production by companies. The know-how acquired during this process of overcoming pollution problems became the foundation of the city's present-day international environmental cooperation.

Development of industry and degradation of natural assets

In 1901, the publicly run Yawata Steel Works was established, which led to the creation of heavy and chemical industries in Kitakyushu, particularly steelmaking. After the Second World War, these factories were running at full speed, along with Japan's growing economy. At the time, the smoke belching from Kitakyushu's factories was a symbol of prosperity.
By the 1950s, the smoke and dust emissions from the factories were causing problems for local residents. And at that time, the residents and companies, as well as the government, lacked adequate information about the pollution sources and amount of emissions.

Women's group activities and development of social assets

The factories were an important place of employment. The city's prosperity depended to a great extent on the operation of the factories, and many of the local residents were workers there. If a certain factory was identified as a source of pollution, it would be difficult for residents to organize a response against the pollution. Under these circumstances, it was a group of women who provided the stimulus to start a movement demanding action.
During the 1950s, homes located near electric power plants were already facing serious problems from air pollution. In 1950, the Women's Association of Nakabaru 36 District delivered a petition to the government demanding action to rectify the situation. What deserves mention here is that it was the Women's Association that did its own research and prepared credible documentation. They selected four locations in schoolyards, and for three months they hung shirts outside to dry every afternoon and evening, and then used their findings to study the pollution conditions. They were able to show that the closer one went to a factory the worse the pollution was, and that, even after
washing, the shirts would not become completely clean. To facilitate the start of negotiations to establish countermeasures against smoke and soot, they issued a petition to the Tobata City Council, and eventually the factory installed smokestack cleaners.
At the time, the health effects of pollution were not widely known, and environmental countermeasures were considered less important than economic growth. It was in this context that the Women's Association studied the state of damage and pollution, and based on their findings, approached the related institutions, raised broad support and expanded their activities. The Women's Association called in university professors and other experts, had them review their research and methods, and organized factory tours in an effort to gain a better understanding of the pollution problem. In 1965, the Women's Association issued their study report on the smoke and soot, entitled "We Want Blue Skies" This was a huge undertaking, with 6,000 women in 13 associations sharing the work. These activities of the women's associations were a trigger for women to tackle environmental problems and women's concerns from their own perspective, and they led to the creation of the Kitakyushu Forum on Asian Women and the Kitakyushu municipal center for Gender Equality（MOVE).
In addition, the media took up pollution issues and played a role in spreading information about pollution impacts, as well as the responses by residents, government, and industry. The actions by the women's associations and the reports by the media brought the pollution issue to the forefront in society. This helped to raise the awareness of residents, government, and corporations about the environment, and led to stronger initiatives by governments and companies to address environmental issues.

↑Top

Establishment of administrative structure

Pollution countermeasures started in the 1950s, and until the 1960s, the environment improved in some specific cases, although improvements were not seen in the atmospheric environment of the region overall. On the governmental front, because there was insufficient scientific data to serve as a basis for regulations, legislation for pollution prevention was slow in coming, and there was a shortage of personnel who could contribute to environmental management.
In 1963, the cities of Kokura, Tobata, Wakamatsu, Yahata, and Moji were merged, and the City of Kitakyushu was created. At this time, an office responsible for pollution issues was established within the Public Health Section of the Health Bureau to oversee pollution-related policies, but there were only four officers allocated to that office. With so few staff it was difficult to carry out adequate monitoring or issue administrative guidance to factories. It is noteworthy that by the 1970s, when pollution conditions improved considerably, the personnel in this office had increased to 40.

Establishment of Pollution Prevention Council

At the time, Japan's national legislation was not well-suited to the actual conditions in Kitakyushu. In 1963, Kitakyushu became a designated zone under the Smoke Control Law set by the national government. But because the law controlled the amount of emissions coming from each smokestack, in areas like Kitakyushu where smokestacks were concentrated together, the atmospheric concentrations of pollutants rose to a high level. Thus, it was necessary to create a system that reflected the actual conditions in Kitakyushu. Because of this, it was necessary to build consensus on basic policies between residents, government, and companies through studies on pollution countermeasures, and to create a forum to discuss what regulations should be like.
Kitakyushu established a body in 1964, which eventually became the Advisory body of Environmental Pollution in Kitakyushu City, to study the basic elements of pollution countermeasures, in response to an inquiry from the mayor. This committee consisted of representatives of academia, city councilors, residents' groups, and corporations, and was to propose basic policies to deal with air pollution, as well as specific measures. To this day, the council still plays a critical role in decisions on environmental policies.

↑Top

Plant inspections and financing system for small and medium-scale businesses

Some of the key actions taken during the 1960s, when pollution countermeasures first began, were surveys of actual conditions and initiatives to address the need to improve monitoring and measuring systems. The factory pollution diagnosis system that was started in 1963 is representative of the efforts to conduct surveys of actual conditions. As part of the administrative guidance given by the government, experts in various fields were commissioned to study the structure, operations, and maintenance of smoke-emitting plant facilities and precipitators, and discussed various feasible countermeasures. These studies helped to show that pollution countermeasures were possible and that factories would be able to acquire the necessary technologies before emissions regulations went into effect. They also helped to build relationships of trust between the government and industry. It is interesting to note that years later this type of factory diagnosis was conducted through international environmental cooperation in Dalian, China, with good results.
Based on this type of survey, the need to support the pollution countermeasures of small- and medium-sized enterprises was discussed. As a result, in 1968, a pollution prevention funding system was established, which helped with pollution countermeasures and the relocation of small- and medium-sized enterprises to other sites.

Enhancing the abilities of research institutes

Before the merger that created the City of Kitakyushu, simple health and environmental pollution testing was conducted by the local health centers. Based on the first recommendation in 1964 from the Kitakyushu City Pollution Prevention Council, which stated that improvements were needed in systems to study air pollution and in the equipment for that purpose, the Kitakyushu City Health Research Institute was established in 1965 (later changed to the Kitakyushu City Environmental Sciences Research Institute). Because Kitakyushu City now had its own independent research institute, it became possible to respond more quickly to pollution problems.

↑Top

Expanded rights of city government and Kitakyushu Air Pollution Control Liaison Committee

The creation of a "smog alert" initiative, an independent measure by the City of Kitakyushu, is an episode that demonstrates well the relationship between government and industry. Under this system, if concerns arise over health impacts from air pollution, the government is able to order certain companies to take actions, such as converting to low-sulfur fuels or temporarily halting production. In 1969, a smog alert was issued for the first time, but then problems occurred in the next stages. First, after the smog alert was issued, it took some time for the message to reach the companies. The reasons for this delay were that the authority to issue a smog alert rested with the Fukuoka Prefectural government; Kitakyushu was not empowered to issue an alert, and the telephone was the only way to contact companies covered under the regulation. Second, a company that was suddenly ordered to convert to another fuel or to adjust their production volume would suffer impacts to its production schedule.
Kitakyushu took a number of steps to deal with these problems. To begin with, in order to respond more rapidly to changes in the atmospheric environment, the authority for air pollution was transferred from Fukuoka Prefecture to the City of Kitakyushu, which then became responsible for issuing smog alerts. Then, because the city's authority over air pollution issues was increased, the Kitakyushu Air Pollution Control Liaison Committee was established for dialogue between government and industry about the regulation of pollution sources. This liaison committee played a major role in establishing standards that were realistic in terms of companies' environmental management capacities, including the levels of standards in the pollution prevention agreements described below. Also, the monitoring facilities were improved, and in 1970, a pollution monitoring center to complete the telemetry system was created, allowing intensive air quality monitoring, and in the case of a smog alert, simultaneous contact with the target companies. Also, this system gave companies access to the information they needed about the atmospheric environment, so that they could conduct their factory production activities with some consideration of air conditions.
One bonus was a better understanding of the meteorological conditions that make smog more likely to occur. Usually, air temperature is lower as one moves to higher altitudes, but sometimes the reverse is true-a phenomenon known as a weather inversion. It was discovered that there is a close relationship between the occurrence of smog and these inversions. In order to monitor for inversions, the Mt. Sarakura Meteorological Observation Station was installed to measure temperature at a different altitudes other than in the city. Also, the Special Weather Information System was created to notify companies subject to regulations when a weather inversion had formed. This system has the merit of reducing the negative impacts on companies, because they can control and adjust their production volumes independently. Conditions improved thanks to such initiatives, and smog alerts stopped being issued from 1971 onwards.

↑Top

Pollution Contol Agreements

Kitakyushu needed more far-reaching approaches than the temporary Special Weather Information System. In this regard, Pollution Contol Agreement between the local government and companies played a major role in getting the companies to commit to even stricter emissions standards than those required under national standards. In Kitakyushu, such agreements were signed between the government and new factories in 1969, and with existing factories in 1972 (47 companies, 54 plants). The background to the success in signing these pollution prevention agreements was that wind tunnel and other experiments had advanced in their ability to help understand emissions sources and their relationship with pollution, making it possible to better predict the results of pollution countermeasures. Also, tests by companies using testing equipment showed that they could achieve the standards established in regulations and that the new standards were realistic.

Cleaner production

In the 1970s, when pollution conditions improved considerably, companies built the capacity to implement cleaner production by using energy efficiency and pollution countermeasures. End-of-pipe technologies represent additional costs for taking environmental measures. In contrast, cleaner production generally requires initial investments to improve industrial processes, but it also results in lower operating costs. As a result, it is possible to not only improve the environment but also to boost productivity. For example, one company in the city invested 176.2 billion yen over four years, which reduced both energy consumption and polluting substances by 70%, and operational changes were able to reduce energy consumption and polluting substances by a further 14%. As a result, the company boosted its profits by 212.5 billion yen, leaving a net profit of 36.3 billion yen on the investment.
Shifting to cleaner production, however, requires management ability to identify problems, consider methods of improvement, and establish targets. Recognizing the need for better management, companies had already started offering training for managers in the 1940s, and during the 1960s started quality control activities, aiming to enhance the capacity of all employees.

↑Top

Factors in forming partnerships

Kitakyushu City was able to overcome pollution problems by forming partnerships among residents, government, and companies, and through various activities that complement legislation. The role of Yawata Steel Works, an important local company, was one of the key factors that helped create partnerships. Because it was a publicly-operated company, Yawata Steel Works not only sought to make a profit but also had a strong sense of responsibility toward the community. Also, it was important that each party provided data objectively and promoted dialogue regarding the pollution conditions and about the potential for pollution countermeasures. These factors played an important role in the smooth progress made to solve the problems.

■References

• City of Kitakyushu (1999), Pollution countermeasures of the City of Kitakyushu, Japan.
• Imura Hidefumi and Reiji Hitsumoto (2000), "Kankyo kanri no tame no toshikan kokusai kyoryoku ni kansuru Kitakyushu kara no teian" (Proposal from Kitakyushu for international cooperation between cities for environmental management), Higashi Asia e no shiten (Perspective on East Asia), Autumn edition 2000, 59-75.
• Katsuhara, Takeshi (2002), Higashi Asia no kaihatsu to kankyo mondai-Kitakyushu shi no keiken to sono tekiyousei (Development and environmental problems in East Asia-Proposals from Kitakyushu City and their applicability).
• Pollution Countermeasures Subcommittee of the Editorial Committee on Kitakyushu City's History of Industry, Pollution and Civil Engineering, ed. (1998), Kitakyushu-shi kogai taisakushi (History of pollution control in Kitakyushu), City of Kitakyushu.
• Sugiyama Rie and Hidefumi Imura (1999), "Voluntary Approaches in Japan: Proven Record of Pollution Control Agreements and New Industrial Initiatives for the Protection of the Global Environment," Eco-Management and Auditing, Vol. 6, 128-134.
• Shimizu Yasushi (2000), Wagakuni no kogyoka no ayumi to kokusai gijutsu kyoryoku no mondaiten (The history of Japan's industrialization and issues of international technology cooperation), accessed 6 April 2004 <www.kita.or.jp/shimizu_1.html>.

↑Top