Sea Disposal of Human Excreta from Osaka City and Role of Osaka Municipal Hygienic Laboratory

Abstract

In about 1950, the surrounding coastal cities began to deposit in Osaka Bay the human excreta that could not be used or disposed of on land. In connection, researchers from the Osaka Municipal Hygienic Laboratory undertook a rapid survey of the state of pollution in the Bay and established that, while pollution was present in the sea disposal area, it was severer at the mouth of rivers. After the survey, the researchers joined the research committee chaired by Professor Miura of Kyoto University, which operated with the aid of the Scientific Experimental Research Fund of the Ministry of Education, and studied pollution in Osaka Bay, the effect of sea disposal on fish, the behavior of the deposited excreta in the sea, and the viability of E. coli in seawater. The present material was written to commemorate the work of the Hygienic Laboratory in the study of human excreta disposal in Osaka Bay. It consists of a history of human excreta treatment and disposal in Osaka City up to the beginning of sea disposal, related laws during the same period, the situation regarding sea disposal and pollution in the Bay, and the activities of a committee of Osaka Bay coastal cities set up to research human excreta disposal problems.