• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.27
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• pp.2.1-2.4
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• 2012

Objectives: This study is a cross-sectional study to investigate the frequency of humidifier and humidifier disinfectant usage in the general population. Methods: A questionnaire was applied to 94 subjects (46 male, 48 female) from the general population of Gyeonggi Province. The questionnaire consisted of 3 scales (general characteristics, 5 items about humidifier usage, 5 items about humidifier disinfectant usage). Results: Thirty-five (37.2%) of the 94 subjects use a humidifier and humidifier disinfectant usage was found to be 18.1%. The frequency of humidifier usage is 4.8 times per a week and the humidifier disinfectant usage is 2.4 times per a week. Humidifier usage rate was highest in January. and then tended to rise gradually from October. Conclusions: Although this study population was not representative, we can say that approximately 50 percent of the humidifier users use a humidifier disinfectant and the trend of using a humidifier has shown seasonality.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 2021

Background: Humidifier disinfectant exposure is an ongoing issue, and there is still considerable related controversy. Various approaches are needed to secure scientific evidence on the extent of the victims' damages and for the determination of appropriate compensation. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between humidifier disinfectant (HD) use and academic achievement in Korean children. Methods: This study used data from the 8th Panel Study on Korean Children in 2015. For the final study, 1,598 cases were used. T-tests and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine whether the use of humidifier disinfectant is a factor that affects academic ability. Results: Children in groups using humidifier disinfectant showed statistically significantly lower scores in all areas of language, including reading, speaking and writing, and statistically lower scores in all areas of mathematics, including counting, addition and subtraction. In the multiple regression analysis results, which control for the effects of various demographic/social variables, the use of humidifier disinfectants showed statistically significant beta coefficients (β: -0.357, p<0.001), negatively affecting children's language ability. As for the 'math' variable, which was created by combining counting, addition, and subtraction scores, the use of humidifier disinfectants as independent variables also showed statistically significant beta coefficients (β: -0.200, p<0.001), negatively affecting children's math ability. Conclusions: The results of the study showed that depending on whether or not humidifier disinfectants were used, there are differences in children's language abilities, such as reading, speaking, and writing, as well as in their mathematical abilities, such as counting, adding, and subtracting numbers. These findings are thought to serve as a scientific basis for extending the perspective from health effects to more diverse areas of demographic and social impact related to humidifier disinfectant damage and compensation.

• Journal of Wellbeing Management and Applied Psychology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.57-67
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify what research ethics issues are related to chemical incidents at the level of national disasters in Korea, and then to secure clear research ethics to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Research design, data and methodology: The study design was a case study of the humidifier disinfectant disaster in Korea. The humidifier disinfectant incident is a worldwide issue that has never occurred in the world. The main cause of the humidifier disinfectant incident that occurred only in Korea was the toxicity of the humidifier disinfectant contained in the humidifier spray. In this regard, research ethics will be derived through related laws and systems, research ethics status, incident damage and compensation, prosecution's investigation status, and the final precedent of the Supreme Court. Results: Although the lack of laws and systems of government departments related to humidifiers is important in the research results, the violation of ethics regulations by researchers during research experiments has become a decisive problem. Conclusions: In conclusion, the most important thing is that the research bioethics of researchers at the forefront should take precedence over any other values, especially during experiments and research related to public health.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.295-309
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• 2019

Eight years have passed since the Korean government's medical agency officially reported that the fatal lung disease found in some hospitals in 2011 was caused by chemical disinfectants used in household humidifiers, marking the introduction of the humidifier disinfectant disaster. Over the past eight years, a medical-scientific approach has been taken by the Korean government in its efforts to solve the problems in terms of relief of and compensation for the potential victims. One of the unintended consequence of this approach has been the fact that the number of "official victims" recognized by the government is quite small compared to the total number of applicants who claim to be suffering from the humidifier disinfectant disaster. This is mainly due to the fact that the medical-scientific approach relies on excessively strict, rigid, and narrow medical-scientific criteria provided by medical experts for judging the degree of applicants' bodily damage from the use of humidifier disinfectants. As a result, this medical-scientific approach is becoming increasingly criticized by patients' organizations mainly composed of rejected applicants. Based on the analysis of the limits of this medical-scientific approach and after clarifying the social implications of the disaster from a sociological perspective, this paper proposes certain social approaches focused on participatory governance as a means of dealing with the current issue. Finally, the paper emphasizes that the act of taking social responses to the humidifier disinfectant disaster should also be considered a process of enlarging and deepening democracy in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.310-320
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of the retardation of administrative relief under the Special Act on Remedy for Damages Caused by Humidifier Disinfectant and to suggest the systematic refurbishment of this act for the quick and fair of relief of damages. Methods: This study was conducted through the application of the case study, literature review and systematic interpretation of law methods. Results: The disease subject to administrative relief under the Special Act is defined as health damage causally associated to a substantial degree with exposure to humidifier disinfectant. This definition is a strict requirement in light of the legislative purpose of prompt and fair relief of damages. Furthermore, the damage relief committee established under the Special Act judged causal relationships according to a rigorous standard in terms of medical certainty. This medical evidence-based judgment is a result of the committee's failure to understand the normative meaning and function of a causal relationship as an outcome of inference based on empirical rules and common sense. Conclusions: Humidifier disinfectant health damage should be defined as a health-related injury capable of occurring or deteriorating after exposure to humidifier disinfectant (HD). If the fact that a particular injury occurred or worsened after exposure to HD was found, then the damage can be presumed as being caused by HD. However, this might not be the case when the injury was considered to have occurred or been exacerbated entirely due to other factors.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.14.1-14.4
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• 2016

A total of 221 patients were evaluated to be humidifier disinfectant associated with lung injury (HDLI) through two rounds of programs through April 2015. The humidifier disinfectant (HD) brands most often associated with HDLI were found to be Oxy (n=151, 68 %) and Cefu (n=26, 17 %). Polyhexamethylene guanidine used for disinfectant for four types of HD brands including Oxy was found to be associated with the highest number of HDLI cases (n=188). Further programs are operating to identify various health effects including lung injury which may be associated with the use of HD. Not only national agencies, but also pertinent environmental health societies should cooperate in the necessary investigations so that this tragedy can be properly addressed and future incidents concerning chemicals and chemical-containing products can be prevented.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2018

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to describe strategy for exposure assessment of humidifier disinfectant (HD) used in the national program to associate the use of HD with lung injury. Methods: Strategy and method employed to evaluate HD use characteristics were developed to associate health effects including HD associated with lung injury (HDLI). We developed HD-specific questionnaire to assess potential HD exposure, which was consistently used in the national program. Trained environmental health scientists visited the residences of registered subjects and investigated HD use characteristics. Results: Major HD exposure related variables were type of HD brand/s used; HD volume added to the humidifier, frequency of HD addition, and time spent in room/s with the humidifier; duration of HD use in the household in average months/year, weeks/month, and days/week; average sleeping hours in a room with an operating humidifier containing a disinfectant; number of HD brands used and type of HD; average distance of the bed from the humidifier in meters. Conclusions: We concluded that estimated airborne HD concentration was significantly associated with the risk of HDLI.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.409-420
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• 2018

Objectives: An outbreak of humidifier disinfectant-related respiratory disease has not only been a massive disaster for end users, but it is also a concern for the workers of the manufacturers. This study presents the results of a questionnaire survey on the health effects among workers involved in the manufacture of humidifier disinfectants. Methods: Seven sites where humidifier disinfectants were manufactured were identified. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the physical symptoms experienced by workers related to humidifier disinfectants. Among a total of 177 workers, 42 subjects were available for the survey. Results: Twenty-one of the 42 respondents reported that they experienced respiratory or skin and mucosal irritation symptoms during work. Of the respondents who experienced symptoms, 14 believed that their symptoms were related to the work process and reported that the symptoms were experienced while working. However, no respondents reported ongoing symptoms or sequelae during the investigation period, and this result could not minimize selection bias due to low response rates. We then compared the characteristics of the group who experienced suspicious symptoms with those of the group without any symptoms. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups. Conclusions: We could not find significant health effects related to the humidifier disinfectant manufacturing process, although 21 respondents experienced stimulant symptoms and 14 respondents believed that the symptoms were related to the work process. Due to the long period of time after occupational exposure and the lack of data, there were many limitations to this study. However, this is one of the few follow-up investigations of workers related to this large-scale disaster in South Korea and the limitations of this study highlight the need to follow up with a nationwide database rather than an occasional survey.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to reveal the circumstances under which the cases of harm to health caused by humidifier disinfectant were neglected and show the points where the number of victims and the degree of damage could have been reduced. In addition, it attempts to describe how damage management proceeded immediately after the incident and actually exacerbated the damage. Finally, it explores the unfortunate aspects of the recent trial. By doing so, it attempts to take this as an opportunity to consider whether a tragic event such as the humidifier disinfectant incident could occur in the future. Methods: This study collected and analyzed data on chemical material characteristics related to humidifier disinfectants, data on health effect characteristics, data on related laws and regulations from the Ministry of Environment, data related to the damage investigation by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, and current contents. Results: The lack of related systems and laws is the area where the greatest responsibility for the cause of the humidifier disinfectant disaster falls, so it is difficult for the government to escape this responsibility. Establishing a dedicated department to identify the prevalence of certain diseases within the functions of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to monitor health can greatly contribute to the prevention and management of diseases through early detection and management of group outbreaks caused by harmful factors. Humidifier disinfectant damage relief should have been expanded earlier beyond HDLI (humidifier disinfectant lung injury) to include non-specific diseases such as asthma, pneumonia, and interstitial pneumonia. The scope of relief benefits should have also been expanded earlier to include the payment of disability benefits. Fortunately, with the 2020 revision of the Special Act, the conditions for estimating causal relations were eased and individual screening systems such as health impact assessment were reorganized along with the introduction of a rapid screening system. Conclusions: The management system for chemical substances in a country is clearly of paramount importance, and the ministry in charge must have a response system in case of damage to health effects. Administration that looks at the victims' situation from their point of view is needed, and technical countermeasures are required to quickly recognize the prevalence of certain diseases.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.63-127
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• 2018

This paper discuses how toxic humidifier disinfectants were produced and distributed by bypassing tightly regulated laws from 1994 when the first humidifier disinfectant was made until 2011 when it was found to be the cause of the untreated interstitial lung disease. Rather than presupposing immoral entrepreneurs or incompetent civil servants as the cause of this disaster, this paper focuses on the bureaucratic character of the corporate organization that sold the humidifier disinfectant and the government that approved it, and shows that communication in these bureaucratic organizations was hampered and thus defective. It emphasizes the fact that the bureaucracy and secrecy of these organizations are the major cause of the humidifier disinfectant disaster. An analysis of the bureaucratic characteristic of the organization can reveal what improvements should be made in the corporation and in the government in order not to recur this disaster.