After years of neglect, politicians and bureaucrats are finally getting their acts together and addressing the issue of dioxin contamination. In March, the government announced plans to cut nationwide dioxin emissions by 90 percent of its 1997 level by 2002, and the ruling parties are poised to submit a dioxin special-measures bill to the House of Councilors. If this bill is enacted by both houses of the Diet, the government would be empowered to establish limits on the concentration of dioxin in the air, water and soil on the basis of an agreed-upon level of Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI), the maximum recommended level of dioxin intake, above which health problems are prone to occur over time.

In response, a joint task force of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Environment Agency has proposed bringing the TDI level from the current 10 picograms per kilogram of body weight to four picograms, in line with recommendations made by the World Health Organization. (One picogram equals one-trillionth of a gram.) Last week, the Environment Agency released an inventory detailing emissions estimates from various sources, ranging from incinerators to crematoriums, and announced new measures to tackle the problem.

Public outcry and government regulatory efforts have already reduced dioxin emissions to about 2.9 kg in 1998, down from 6.3 kg the year before. All these developments are welcome, but there is no reason for complacency. Although the new Japanese TDI standard falls within WHO's recommendation of one to four picograms, it must be pointed out that the Japanese TDI stands at the high end of the WHO scale and is much higher than standards set by other developed countries. The actual dioxin intake in Japan -- at 2.6 picograms -- is comfortably lower than the government's TDI guideline, but this is cold comfort. The WHO has recommended an ultimate goal of under 1 picogram.