The Japanese Ministry of the Environment revealed today that 6,000 items of data, including the private contact information of public officials, were exposed within its Google (News - Alert) Groups account.

The information wasn't nabbed by a smarmy hacker or betrayed by a disgruntled employee. The account was simply left on its default setting: "publicly viewable." As a result, the information shared within the Group was searchable and viewable to any outsiders.

Officials have taken the Group's information offline. However, until the data was removed, the contact information of public officials as well as private information regarding schools, health organizations and political parties was vulnerable to outside views.

Ministry official Michihiru Oi said that the ministry had its own protocol for sharing information among groups, but it decided to use Google Groups because its internals systems didn't always function well outside of Japan. This dysfunction led to what Oi called "poor connections" and a "bad working environment."

The ministry is currently negotiating a treaty generated at the Minamata Convention, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland, in January. The convention wants to create international standards for mercury use.

Minamata is located on Japan's westernmost island, Kyushu. In 1907, the city began manufacturing acetaldehyde, which is a chemical used to produce plastics. Mercury from the production process was dumped into the Minamata Bay, and it was transformed into methyl mercury chloride, a chemical easily absorbed into the food chain.

As residents of Minamata ingested contaminated seafood from the bay, they began to develop symptoms of mercury poisoning. These symptoms included trembling, motor difficulties, difficulty swallowing and hearing, slurred speech and uncontrolled shouting.

Residents also reported seeing "dancing cats" in the street. The cats, which often collapsed and died, also contracted mercury poisoning from ingesting tainted seafood.

Public Health Service researchers didn't trace the mercury poisoning to acetaldehyde production until 1963. Wastewater from production continued to be released into Minamata Bay until 1968.

The Ministry of the Environment is conducting an investigation into the data breach.