The Takamatsu District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by residents of the city of Takamatsu seeking a court order to halt the operation of a waste incinerator plant in the city.

Seven plaintiffs living near the plant filed the suit in 1988, claiming dioxin-contaminated smoke from the plant, which is run by an outside body of the Takamatsu Municipal Government, posed a constant health hazard.

The court came to the decision after obtaining a report from researchers at Ehime University that said although low dioxin levels were detected in smoke from the plant, the health risk to humans is not known.