But in Japan, the vast human catastrophe and deepening Fukushima nuclear disaster have tended to eclipse these issues of chemical contamination.
Becker, a veteran Asia correspondent, takes an unblinking look at a regime that has made North Korea an international pariah, and defines its leader as a skillful tyrant presiding over a vast humanitarian catastrophe and a potential nuclear nightmare.
In an interview at the time it was published, Maxwell said that, by using a variety of traditional forms, he hoped to give voice to individuals buried in a vast historical catastrophe: "I want their voices to be memorable, as if they were photographs, framed photographs".
It is also clear that McBurney's staging is a comment on the vast new humanitarian catastrophe now engulfing Europe.
Hurricanes account for the vast majority of insurance catastrophes; the insured loss from Katrina last year ($45 billion) was more than twice that from the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 ($21 billion).
Which only shows how small the vastest of human catastrophes may seem, at a distance of a few million miles.
One can only conclude that Osborne anticipates a financial catastrophe of such vast and hideous dimensions that, when the time comes to disclaim all responsibility, only this mistress of obfuscation will do.
El Niño is said to have contributed to the catastrophe by drying out vast forest areas, leaving the forest floor to smoulder long after the flames have gone.
We are stuck, because the actions that would give us the best chance of averting catastrophe – and benefit the vast majority – are threatening to an elite minority with a stranglehold over our economy, political process and media.
The game is about a vast underground utopia that underwent a catastrophe called The Mess and now lies abandoned.
