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1971 Iraq poison grain disaster
The 1971 Iraq poison grain disaster was a mass methylmercury poisoning incident that began in late 1971. Grain treated with a methylmercury fungicide and never intended for human consumption was imported into Iraq as seed grain from Mexico and the United States. Due to a number of factors, including foreign-language labelling and late distribution within the growing cycle, this toxic grain was consumed as food by Iraqi residents in rural areas. People suffered from paresthesia (numbness of skin), ataxia (lack of coordination of muscle movements) and vision loss, symptoms similar to those seen when Minamata disease affected Japan. The recorded death toll was 650 people, but figures at least ten times greater have been suggested. The 1971 poisoning was the largest mercury poisoning disaster when it occurred,〔 with cases peaking in January and February 1972 and stopping by the end of March.
Reports after the disaster recommended tighter regulation, better labelling and handling of mercury-treated grain, and wider involvement of the World Health Organization in monitoring and preventing poisoning incidents. Investigation confirmed the particular danger posed to fetuses and young children.
== Context ==
The properties of mercury make it an effective fungicide. However, in Europe and America, its health risks (even when consumed in small quantities) were known. Methylmercury had been banned in Sweden in 1966,〔 the first country to do so, and the United Kingdom followed in 1971.〔 Previous mercury-poisoning incidents had occurred in Iraq in 1956 and 1960. In 1956, there had been around 200 cases, and 70 deaths; in 1960 there had been 1000 cases and 200 deaths, in both cases due to ethylmercury compounds.〔 Among the recommendations made after the 1960 incident had been to colour any toxic grain for easy identification.〔 Before the 1971 incident, around 200–300 cases of methylmercury poisoning had been reported worldwide.〔 Drought had reduced harvests in 1969, affecting 500,000 people,〔 and in 1970. Saddam Hussein, as the government's no. 2 behind Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, decided to import mercury-coated seed grain for the late 1971 planting season. Hussein himself may have worked in the Department of Agriculture in the aftermath of the 1960 incident.〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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