• 제목/요약/키워드: Humidifier disinfectant disaster

검색결과 16건 처리시간 0.018초

가습기살균제 피해사건과 교훈 (Health Damages and Lessons of the Use of Humidifier Disinfectants in Korea)

  • 최예용;임흥규;임신예;백도명
    • 한국환경보건학회지
    • /
    • 제38권2호
    • /
    • pp.166-174
    • /
    • 2012
  • Introduction: After 17 years since the first production of humidifier disinfectants in Korea, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that the odds ratio of lung injury related with humidifier disinfectant usage was 47.3 (95% confidence interval 6.0-369.7) according to a case-control study with 18 adult cases, including 8 pregnant women at a university hospital in Seoul. Results: From September 2011 to April 2012, one-hundred and seventy four victim cases have been reported to an environmental non-governmental group (NGO). We summarized timetable of humidifier disinfectants accidents, analyzed health outcomes (death, lung or lung and heart transplantation, pulmonary disease) of reported victims, and classified some information for humidifier disinfectants with health outcomes, and government action for this accident. Among the victims, number of death cases are 52 (30.0%), including 26 babies less than 3 years old. Sixty-nine victims come from twenty-seven family with 2 to 4 members per family. About twenty types of humidifier disinfectant products and about 600,000 product items a year have been sold. Fifty-two death cases used 7 different types of disinfectant products, including imported goods and some private brands of well-known supermarkets. KCDC confirmed inhalation toxicity of 6 products through an animal experimental test, and based on this observation recalled disinfectants containing PHMG (polyhexamethylene guanidine) and PGH (Oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl guanidinium chloride). Discussions: The use of these biocides involved highly fatal consequences among biologically vulnerable victims, such as pregnant women, several family member victims after semi-acute exposure. This is the first biocide disaster in Korea with non-specific targets, and unknown scale of victims, warranting concerns on use of biocides in the living environment. Conclusions: Special administrative agency for chemical safety and compensation act for environmental health victims are needed to prevent similar problems.

가습기살균제 참사의 진행과 교훈(Q&A) (Questions and Answers about the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster as of February 2017)

  • 최예용
    • 한국환경보건학회지
    • /
    • 제43권1호
    • /
    • pp.1-22
    • /
    • 2017
  • 'The worstest environment disaster', 'World's first biocide massacre', 'Home-based Sewol ferry disaster' are all phrases attached to the recent humidifier disinfectant disaster. In the spring of 2011, four of 8 pregnant women including 1 adult man passed away at a university hospital in Seoul due to breathing failure. Epidemiologic investigation conducted by the Korean CDC soon revealed the inhalation of humidifier disinfectant, which had been widely used in Korea during the winter, to be responsible for the disease. As well as lung fibrosis hardening of the lungs, other diseases including asthma, rhinitis, skin disease, liver disease, fetal disease or cancers have been researched for their relation with exposure to the products. By February 9, 2017, 5,342 cases had registered for health problems and 1,131 of them were already dead (20.8% mortality rate). Based on studies by government agencies and a telephone survey of the general population by Seoul National University and civic groups, around 20% of the general public of Korea has used these products. Since the market release of the first product by SK Chemical in 1994, over 7.1 million items from around 20 brands were sold up to 2011. Most of the products were manufactured by well-known large conglomerates such as SK, Lotte, Samsung, Shinsegye, LG, and GS, as well as some European companies including UK-based Reckitt Benckiser and TESCO, the German firm Henkel, the Danish firm KeTox, and an Irish company. Even though this disaster was unveiled in 2011 by the Korean government, the issue of the victims was neglected for over five years. In 2016, an unexpected but intensive investigation by prosecutors found that Reckitt Benckiser manipulated and concealed animal tests for its own brand and brought several university experts and company employees to court. The matter was an intense social issue in Korea from May to June with a surge in media coverage. The prosecutor's investigation and a nationwide boycott campaign organized by victims and environmental groups against Reckitt Benckiser, whose product had been used by more than 70% of victims, led to the producer's official apology and a compensation scheme. A legislative investigation organized after the April 2016 national election revealed the producers' faults and the government's responsibility, but failed to meet expectations. A special law for the victims passed the National Assembly in January 2017 and a punitive system together with a massive environmental epidemiology investigation are expected to be the only solutions for this tragedy. Sciences of medicine, toxicology and environmental health have provided decisive evidence so far, but for the remaining problems the perspectives of social sciences such as sociology and jurisprudence are highly necessary, similar to with the Minamata disease and Wonjin Rayon events. It may not be easy to follow this issue using unfamiliar terminology from medical and chemical science and the long, complicated history of the event. For these reasons the author has attempted to write this article in a question and answer format to render it easier to follow. The 17 questions are: Q1 What is humidifier disinfectant? Q2 What kind of health problems are caused by humidifier disinfectant? Q3 How many victims are there? Q4 What is the analysis of the 1,112 cases of death? Q5 What is the problem with the government's diagnostic criteria and the solution? Q6 Who made what brands? Q7 Has there been a recall? What is still on sale? Q8 Was safety not checked by any producers? Q9 What are the government's responsibilities? Q10 Is it true that these products were sold only in Korea? Q11 Why and how was it unveiled only in 2011 after 17 years of sales? Q12 What delayed the resolution of the victim issue? Q13 What is the background of the prosecutor's investigation in early 2016? Q14 Is it possible to report new victim cases without evidence of product purchase? Q15 What is happening with the victim issue? Q16 How does it compare with the cases of Minamata disease and Wonjin Rayon? Q17 Are there prevention measures and lessons?

사회적 재난에 대한 트위터 여론 수렴 모델: '가습기 살균제' 사건을 중심으로 (A Collecting Model of Public Opinion on Social Disaster in Twitter: A Case Study in 'Humidifier Disinfectant')

  • 박준형;류법모;오효정
    • 정보처리학회논문지:소프트웨어 및 데이터공학
    • /
    • 제6권4호
    • /
    • pp.177-184
    • /
    • 2017
  • 최근 점차 복잡해져가는 사회구조 속에서 사회적 재난은 빈번하게 발생되고 있으며, 그 피해 규모 또한 점차 대형화되고 있다. 따라서 사회적 재난에 신속하게 대응함으로써, 추가 피해를 방지할 수 있는 체계화된 방법이 필요하다. 그 중에서도 소셜미디어, 특히 트위터는 신속성 및 확장성이 높아 재난에 대한 대응책으로 새롭게 주목받고 있다. 다양한 대중들의 관심이 드러나는 트위터의 여론을 수렴하는 것은 재난 발생에 신속하게 대응하고, 추가적인 피해를 방지하는데 유용한 수단으로 활용될 수 있다. 따라서 본 연구는 키워드 분석 및 이슈 트윗 추출, 시계열 분석 과정을 통해 사회적 재난에 대한 트위터 여론 수렴 방법을 제안하였으며, 최근 사회적으로 이슈화된 가습기 살균제 사건을 연구 대상으로 선정, 실제 적용가능성을 보이는데 의의가 있다.

생활화학제품 관련 기업의 책임 이행 현황과 과제 (Corporate Responsibility for Consumer Chemical Products in Korea)

  • 이준철;김신범
    • 한국환경보건학회지
    • /
    • 제45권4호
    • /
    • pp.321-325
    • /
    • 2019
  • The recent humidifier disinfectant disaster has caused a great change in our society and lead the Korean people to lose faith in the government and corporations. To overcome this mistrust, the government and corporations have undertaken certain efforts, including a voluntary agreement on consumer product safety. All the ingredients of a consumer product should be disclosed according to this voluntary agreement. There were also unexpected benefits occuring from this process. We found that the concept of corporate responsibility for product safety differed greatly among the various actors in Korean society. Corporations believed that a product could be considered safe if it contained no regulated substances. We have come to believe that this may be an important cause of the humidifier disinfectant disaster. The Korean government, corporations, and civil organizations have reached a consensus that it is a corporation's responsibility to evaluate the risks of products before they are introduced to the market. However, the limitations of these voluntary efforts are clear, and the legal system needs to be improved. We suggest that the concept of extreme recklessness should be introduced into regulations on product safety.

가습기 살균제 참사와 관련된 당시 생활화학물질 관리 법령에 대한 비판적 고찰 (Critical Review of the Former Korean Regulations for Consumer Chemicals and the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster)

  • 조대환;조경이;박태현;최예용;박동욱
    • 한국환경보건학회지
    • /
    • 제48권3호
    • /
    • pp.183-194
    • /
    • 2022
  • Background: No study has examined the regulatory factors associated with fatal health problems due to the use of humidified disinfectants (HD) in South Korea. Objectives: This study aimed to identify and discuss the deficiencies and limitations found in the Toxic Chemical Control Acts (TCCA) that failed to prevent the health risk of chemicals in HD products. Methods: The South Korean TCCA was reviewed focusing on acts in operation from 1994 through the end of 2011, the period when HD was allowed in manufacturing and marketing. Results: The TCCA was the act intended to regulate the toxicity of chemicals in HD products. We found the TCCA to lack three key legal clauses which would have been essential to controlling the health risk of HD. First, there was the exemption of toxic and hazard testing for existing chemicals, including chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT), methylisothiazolinone (MIT), and benzalkonium chloride (BKC). Secondly, there were no articles requiring industry to provide animal inhalation test result for polymers such as polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) and Oligo(2-)ethoxyethoxyethyl guanidine chloride (PGH). Finally, there was a lack of articles on examining the risk of products as well as on addressing changes in the usage of products. These articles were found to be generally provided in the US Toxic Substance Chemical Act (TSCA) and the EU Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH). Conclusions: In conclusion, the Ministry of Environment of South Korea had not updated key articles for regulating hazardous chemicals, causing large-scale health problems due to HD which had been fundamentally addressed in chemical-related acts in other countries.

Humidifier disinfectant lung injury, how do we approach the issues?

  • Choi, Jihyun Emma;Hong, Sang-Bum;Do, Kyung-Hyun;Kim, Hwa Jung;Chung, Seockhoon;Lee, Eun;Choi, Jihyun;Hong, Soo-Jong
    • Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
    • /
    • 제31권
    • /
    • pp.19.1-19.7
    • /
    • 2016
  • A large portion of the Korean population has been exposed to toxic humidifier disinfectants (HDs), and considering that the majority of the victims are infants, the magnitude of the damage is expected to be considerably larger than what has currently been revealed. The current victims are voicing problems caused by various diseases, including but not limited to lung, upper respiratory tract, cardiovascular, kidney, musculoskeletal, eye, and skin diseases, etc. However, there has been difficulty in gaining validation for these health problems and identifying causal relationships due to lack of evidence proving that toxic HD is the specific causes of extrapulmonary diseases such as allergic rhinitis. Furthermore, the victims and bereaved families of the HD case have not received any support for psychological distress such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, feelings of injustice, and anger caused by the trauma. In addition, because the underlying mechanisms of the toxic materials within the HDs such as polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate, poly(oxyalkylene guanidine) hydrochloride, chloromethylisothiazolinone /methylisothiazolinone have yet to be determined, the demand for information regarding the HD issue is growing. The victims of the HD cases require support that goes beyond financial aid for medical costs and living expenses. There is a desperate need for government-led integrated support centers that provide individualized support through health screenings; in other words, we need an integrated facility that provides the appropriate social support to allow the victims to recover their physical and mental health, so as to well prepare them to return to a normal life. The implementation of such a plan requires not only the close cooperation between those departments already directly involved such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, but also active support on a national scale from pan-governmental consultative bodies.