A panel of ministers tasked with tackling dioxin pollution formally adopted basic guidelines Tuesday for measures aimed at cutting such emissions by 90 percent within the next four years.

The ministerial committee on dioxin, headed by Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, pledged efforts to cut the nation's overall dioxin emissions by 90 percent from 1997 levels by the end of 2002.

Japan's level of dioxin is reportedly as much as 10 times higher than in most Western nations because up to 90 percent of its waste is incinerated -- the main source of dioxin emissions.

According to the guidelines, Japan's index on tolerable daily intake of dioxin will be revised within three months to bring it in line with a proposal by the World Health Organization.

The 90 percent cut in dioxin emissions would be achieved mostly through steps to reduce the amount of garbage sent to incinerators. Recycling and reuse will also be encouraged, as will the development and promotion of technologies to prevent the creation of dioxin.

To this end, the central and local governments need to be diligent in holding private waste handlers responsible by promoting safe and appropriate management of trash facilities, the plan says.

Within the next six months, the government is to coordinate policy and set a figure to cut garbage production. The Environment Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will lower and synchronize within the next three months the dioxin TDI, the amount of the substance that can ostensibly be ingested without risking one's health.

Currently, the Environment Agency's TDI value is set at 5 picograms of dioxin per 1 kg of body weight per day, while the Health Ministry's sits at 10 picograms -- both higher than the WHO limits, which were revised last May from 10 down to between 1 and 4 picograms. A picogram is one- trillionth of a gram.

To reduce dioxin emissions by waste facilities run by local governments, the state will provide monetary and technological support and forge a strategic plan to dispose of garbage more efficiently.

Within six months, the government is to come up with guidelines for tolerable dioxin concentrations in the air, and gather information to consider setting limits for water and soil as well.

By June, the Environment Agency is to have compiled an inventory of dioxin emissions to gain a more nuanced understanding of where the substance comes from and to facilitate policymaking.

In response to a suit against the government by two former workers seeking damages for illness allegedly caused from dioxin exposure at a controversial incinerator in Nose, Osaka Prefecture, the plan also calls for work environment improvements, and policies to this end, to prevent dioxin exposure.

The plan also strives to improve the flow of information to the public. The government will also publicize annual progress reports and explain dioxin-related issues and measures to the public regularly in accurate and easy-to-understand language.

Under the proposal, the government will devise a standard testing system for dioxin levels to ensure reliability in testing methods, both domestically and for tests that are sent to foreign testing facilities. "Dioxin is an issue that we need to be flexible in tackling, and this (policy outline) is only the beginning," Environment Agency chief Kenji Manabe said, commending the plan for its clear agenda and stance on waste disposal.