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The Pollution-related Health Damage Prevention Program |
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This is a program to prevent the occurrence of pollution-related health damage and secure the health of area residents.
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| >> Progressing from individual compensation to the prevention of health damage for area residents |
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The current state of air pollution is different from that of the mid 60's to the mid 70's and is no longer regarded as the major reason for diseases such as asthma. The current pollution level is not sufficiently high to provide compensation considering civil liabilities. To the patients suffering from diseases such as asthma however, the possibility that the pollution level may still have some influence on those diseases can not be ruled out.
Considering those changes in the state of air pollution, the Class 1 area designation was abolished on March 1,1988. Then the focus of activity was shifted from the compensation to individuals to the measures for general environmental health including pollution-related health damage prevention programs. These programs have now being actively promoted.
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| >> Operation the pollution-related health damage prevention program |
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The pollution-related health damage prevention program was established to prevent the occurrence of health damage related to air pollution. The purpose of this program is to support the existing measures of the national and local governments to prevent air pollution and health damage and to secure the health of area residents.
ERCA established the fund of about ¥50 billion with the expenses required to operate the program drawn from the profit gained from the investment of the fund. The fund is made up of contributions from pollution emitting enterprises and some others and a contribution from the national government. The fund was completed in the fiscal year of 1994.
The pollution-related health damage prevention program is operated in two different ways. Some of the programs are operated directly by ERCA, while other are operated by local governments.
The program is aimed at 47 areas comprised of the 41 former Class 1 areas and 6 other affected areas as in the figure below.
Click here to see Pollution-related health damage prevention program
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Copyright, 2004 Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency. All rights Reserved.
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