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Features and Strengths
We deliver peace of mind to worried customers. By doing so, we also contribute to the sustainability of society. We practice both with the power of engineering. This is one of the features and strengths of EnBio Engineering. How did we hone these features and strengths? What were we thinking about during this process? Chief Development Officer Kusaba will speak on the theme of soil contamination, which was the starting point of the firm’s activities.
Soil contamination from half a century ago remains
In the 1960s and 70s, Japan entered a period of high economic growth. The country experienced a real economic growth rate of 10% per year on average for more than a decade. Thanks to this, Japan become richer seemingly all at once, and the convenience levels of people's lives improved dramatically as televisions, refrigerators and washing machines became widespread. These were even dubbed ‘the three sacred treasures’. At the same time, however, a serious pollution problem was growing behind the scenes. Minamata disease, Yokkaichi asthma and Itai-itai disease, which are now discussed in the nation’s social studies textbooks, are the best examples, and many people lost their lives due to these pollution-related conditions.
The government has implemented regulations through the Air Pollution Control and Water Pollution Control Laws to resolve these problems. Gradually, the situation has improved, and today there are almost no areas suffering from serious pollution, as was the case during the high-growth period. Throughout the country, fish are returning to rivers that were once polluted.
While mitigation measures have been taken, soil decontamination has long been postponed. The effects of air and water pollution are easy to understand, and if measures are taken, results are clear in a short period of time, but in the case of soil contamination, it is not so easy. The source of the pollution is deep underground, the specific impact is difficult to understand and countermeasures are difficult to implement. Even after 50 years, soil contamination remains a negative legacy in various parts of Japan.
Delivering peace of mind to worried customers
At present, soil contamination countermeasures are mainly required at factories, petrol stations and dry cleaners. Usually, the effects of soil pollution are discovered when a facility is closed and the land is being sold. Business owners often say to us, ‘I want to go out of business, get rid of the improvements, sell the land and pay off my debts, so my children can inherit the proceeds’. When the owners are worried and find out that their land cannot be sold due to soil contamination, some feel they have no choice but to continue the business. Many business owners find themselves in similar difficult situations.
This is where we come in. We support our customers’ efforts to solve their problems by not only purifying polluted areas, but also providing total support, including land reuse. In some cases, the simple idea of removing contamination and backfilling it with clean soil can become costly and hinder work to address the overall problem. In this case, our first step is to help the customer by considering with them and supporting the next use method for the land, framing it as an exit strategy.
Contributing to the sustainability of social infrastructure
The inability to resell and use contaminated land is a serious loss to society. Solving the problem of soil pollution is indispensable for land redevelopment, as it not only prevents health problems but also supports urban development. With our experience and technology, we will come up with effective measures and make the land safe for reuse.
This is our great mission: to return the land to the world as an effective part of the social infrastructure. In the future, we will continue to contribute to the construction of a sustainable world with the aim of solving regional problems, such as improving agricultural land contamination and conserving groundwater resources.
The wheelchair athletics club Socio SOEJIMA, established by Paralympic athlete Masazumi Soejima, provides guidance on wheelchair sports to children with disabilities. We support this philosophy and are actively engaged as the Socio SOEJIMA’s platinum partners. Check out the club’s activities on the website.
https://sociosoejima.com/
