50 Years Since the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill Accident 〜 Passing on to the Next Generation the Knowledge Gained Through “Coincidences” That Seem Almost “Inevitable,” Without Letting It Fade Away

Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill was an accident in which heavy oil leaked from a factory in the Mizushima Industrial Complex and spread as far as the eastern half of the Seto Inland Sea, causing enormous damage to fisheries and other industries. A lecture was held in 2024, 50 years after the accident occurred.

The lecturer, Furukawa Akira, currently works as a lecturer in crisis management at Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, representative director of Mizushima Park Management Lab., and chair of the Mizushima Residential Learning Consortium, working to revitalize the town of Mizushima and on other initiatives.

He was transferred to Mizushima in June 2005.
Even after retiring, rather than returning to Yokohama City, where his family lives, he has continued activities based in his hometown of Mizushima, sharing his experience with the local community, including young people such as high school students.

Furukawa’s words left a strong impression: he had experienced no fewer than four oil spills “by chance,” but looking back, perhaps his involvement in all four had been “inevitable.”

Along with looking back at the four accidents discussed at the lecture, this article introduces the “Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill,” which we asked about again in a later interview.

What was the “Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill”?

The Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery oil spill occurred in 1974, and 2024 marked 50 years since the accident.
At the time, communities along the Seto Inland Sea coast, where oil had spread over a wide area, had no heavy machinery effective for removing the heavy oil.

As shown in the flyer’s photograph, many people reportedly took part in cleanup efforts relying mainly on manpower, scooping up the heavy oil with shovels and ladles and carrying it away in buckets.

The accident is introduced below based on the summary provided in the lecture flyer.

At around 8:40 p.m. on December 18, 1974, C-grade heavy oil leaked from Tank No. 270 at the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery in the Mizushima Industrial Complex in Kurashiki City. The vertical staircase attached to the side of the tank and the foundation concrete near its bottom plate damaged the oil containment dike, allowing some of the oil to overtop the dike and flow into the sea. The spill amounted to approximately 7,500–9,500 kL. It spread west to waters off Kasaoka City and east to the Kii Channel, polluting the coasts of four prefectures—Okayama, Kagawa, Tokushima, and Hyogo—and causing enormous damage to fisheries and other industries. The oil spill turned almost the entire eastern half of the Seto Inland Sea into a sea of oil, starkly demonstrating the dangers of industrial complex disasters.

Source: Lecture flyer

About the lecturer, Furukawa Akira

The lecturer, Furukawa Akira, was born in Tokiwa-cho, Mizushima, Kurashiki City, in October 1951.
He chose to study petroleum engineering at university because he believed that energy was essential for Japan’s growth.

After graduating from the Department of Petroleum Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, in March 1974, he joined Mitsubishi Oil Co., Ltd. (now ENEOS Corporation) in April 1974, and handled the response to the four oil spills introduced at the lecture.

In June 2005, he was assigned to his hometown of Mizushima (Shinsui Marine Co., Ltd.). After retiring in 2015, he has continued various activities rooted in Mizushima, including sharing his firsthand experience at Kurashiki University of Arts and other institutions.

See below for details of Furukawa Akira’s career.

Commemorative lecture marking 50 years since the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill

A commemorative lecture was held on December 20, 2024, at the Environmental Learning Center in Mizushima.

The lecture began with opening remarks by Miho Hayashi, secretariat director of the Mizushima Residential Environmental Learning Consortium.
The event was held in two parts: first, a lecture by Furukawa, followed by accounts from his former colleagues.

The four oil spills Furukawa experienced firsthand and the lessons learned from each

Here is an overview of each oil spill, Furukawa’s role, and the lessons learned from each.

Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill

• Heavy oil spilled from the Mizushima Refinery across a wide area of the eastern Seto Inland Sea (7,500–9,500 kL)
• Fisheries and nori seaweed cultivation grounds suffered severe damage (approximately 50 billion yen in losses)

Furukawa was in his first year at the company and reportedly recovered oil in the Takamatsu and Sakaide waters (Bannosu, Samejima, Yoshima, and elsewhere).

Furukawa was called upon to respond soon after joining the company. Rather than succumbing to despair, the company acted with a sense of mission and a united organizational effort, enabling it to complete cleanup operations in about a year.

A chain of misfortunes—including unforeseen damage to the oil containment dike, strong westerly winds, and heavy oil with a high pour point—caused the spill to spread over a wide area. However, he said it was fortunate that there were no casualties or fires.

Through negotiations with related organizations and others, he learned the importance of communication with nearby residents in everyday life and the importance of apologizing.

He also realized the importance of regular training, since in an emergency it is impossible to do more than one has practiced in routine drills.

Tohoku Oil Co., Ltd. Sendai Refinery Oil Spill

• Miyagi-ken-oki earthquake (magnitude 6) occurred
• Three oil tanks were damaged (approximately 70,000 kL spilled)
• Marine pollution was successfully halted through the prompt installation of oil booms

Furukawa was in his fourth year at the company and worked in the Production Management Department. He reportedly served as a member of the response headquarters.

Drawing on experience gained from the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill, they were able to install a “secondary oil containment dike,” “gather and deploy as many oil booms as possible from nearby companies,” and “quickly procure absorbent mats, ladles, buckets, and scrub brushes,” successfully stopping marine pollution.

All equipment was shut down for scheduled maintenance, but it was June and the temperature was relatively high. They were also fortunate that the spilled heavy oil had a low pour point and did not solidify easily.

Oil Spill During the Gulf War

• When Iraq invaded Kuwait, it destroyed crude oil tanks
• As a result, large quantities of oil spilled into the Persian Gulf

As a member of the government’s International Emergency Relief Team, Furukawa reportedly conducted on-site investigations, submitted reports to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), and attended meetings with MEPA (Saudi Arabia’s Meteorology and Environmental Protection Administration at the time).

The British, Dutch, and American teams achieved significant results using their equipment and materials, but proliferating algae interfered with oil recovery, and the equipment brought from Japan was of no use.

While questioning media coverage that could be distorted by a single camera angle, the experience led him to reconsider Japan’s approach to international contributions, which was derided as “giving money but sending no people,” and Japan’s presence in the international community.

Diamond Grace Oil Spill

• A crude oil tanker scheduled to enter the Kawasaki Refinery ran aground in the middle of Tokyo Bay
• Crude oil spill (several thousand kL)

Furukawa reportedly served as a manager in production management.

It was also fortunate that fire and coast guard services were nearby and that coordination with nearby large factories and other relevant parties worked well.

Drawing on his past experience, he was able to predict the movement of the oil based on sea conditions, listen to all available information, and make full use of his knowledge, enabling the spilled oil to be recovered in a short time.

Summary of lessons

The insights Furukawa gained from firsthand experience of the four oil spills are as follows. He repeatedly shares them in university courses and elsewhere.

• Apply lessons from the past and prevent experience from fading away (record and pass it on)
• Learn from the past (in a short lifetime, it is impossible to experience every disaster that has occurred)
• When something happens, envision the worst-case scenario and act accordingly (improve the ability to anticipate)
• It is never possible to do more than what one has trained for
• The importance of leadership in emergencies

He also makes a point of adding that when considering measures to prevent an accident from recurring, it is important to avoid bias in those measures based on the positions of people working within the organization (management, those responsible for the worksite, and those working on the ground), take a medium- to long-term perspective, and nip risks in the bud.

Accounts from Furukawa’s colleagues

Following the lecture by Mr. Furukawa, this event also featured accounts from three of his colleagues—Fujiwara Tetsuo, Inaba Takushi, and Iwanaga Takahisa—about their experiences during the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery oil spill.

Here are their accounts, in their own words.

Mr. Fujiwara Tetsuo

We formed teams of seven to nine people and handled oil recovery at the site. I vividly remember being yelled at by local residents while we were recovering oil near the Elephant Rock on Mutsuguchi Island.

I also remember the difficult days of work after crossing to Shikoku and responding to the oil spill around Sakaide, with not even a place to stay at first.

On Koyo Island, next to Yoshima, the islanders lit a fire and waited for us so that we could warm our bodies, chilled by the oil recovery work. I was glad that their response had become so warm and welcoming.

Mr. Inaba Takushi

I was on the night shift on the day of the accident. While inspecting the premises, I heard a “boom”. An emergency announcement then informed us that oil had leaked, and I went around the site on my bicycle, skidding through the oil.

Although I thought heavy oil was hard to ignite, I still remember the fear I felt as I rode around, wondering, “What would happen if it caught fire?” I knew nothing about the details, and rode around on my bicycle until morning. It was only after it got light that I finally began to understand what was happening.

After that, I went to Sakaide, Takamatsu, Yoshima, and Tokushima to respond to the accident.

Mr. Iwanaga Takahisa

Before the spill, I thought that even if an accident occurred, no oil would leak. I was nearby just after the accident happened, and above all, I was afraid of a fire.

Our response work in Awaji Island and Naruto involved repeatedly removing oil from the water’s surface and wiping oil off rocks and other surfaces with rags (usually cleaning cloths).

At one tourist destination, people were concerned that the spill would reduce the number of visitors, and asked us to work discreetly. We sometimes worked early in the morning, before tourists arrived.

Once the response work had settled down, I began activities such as soccer schools and women’s baseball as a company community liaison committee member, as well as public relations activities to help people learn about the refinery. I did so because I felt that building relationships with the local community and sharing information were important.

After hearing Mr. Furukawa speak at the lecture, I wanted to learn more about the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery oil spill accident, so I went back to speak with him again at a later date.

50th Anniversary Lecture on the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill Information

Name	50th Anniversary Lecture on the Mitsubishi Oil Mizushima Refinery Oil Spill
Date	December 20, 2024, 2:00 p.m.–3:30 p.m.
Location	1-50 Mizushima Higashichidoricho, Kurashiki City, West Building, 4th Floor

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