Japan. Doctor Noboru Hagino begins a serious scientific study of the disease affecting the Kamioke Mine families. By superimposing the epidemiological and hydrological maps of the area, he discovers the cause in the mine. It is cadmium, which flows downstream in the hydrogeological system, is absorbed by the rice plants, and ingested by the inhabitants, where it binds to calcium in their bones. Hagino only makes his findings public in 1961. In 1972, the mining company compensates the 178 survivors. Cadmium will remain in the collective imagination of the Japanese for generations, so much so that the ultimate weapon to destroy Godzilla is cadmium missiles…
