South Korean humidifier disinfectant case | |
Hangul | 가습기살균제사건 |
---|---|
Hanja | 加濕器殺菌劑事件 |
Revised Romanization | Gaseupgi salgyunje sageon |
McCune–Reischauer | Kasŭpki salgyunje sagŏn |
The South Koreanhumidifier disinfectant case was an outbreak of lung diseases in South Korea caused by chemicals contained in several humidifier disinfectants. It is estimated to have caused over 14,000 deaths.
In November 1994,South Korean firm Yugong,now known as SK Chemicals,began selling a humidifier sterilizer on the domestic market that it claimed was “capable of completely eradicating bacteria in humidifiers”.
Yugong,the first company to sell humidifier sterilizer,didn’t submit PHMG for government review until 1996,two years after it went on sale. The ensuing Ministry of Environment report,issued in March 1997,categorized the chemical as “non-toxic substance”based on the company’s proposal to use it as an antibacterial in carpets.
After Yugong became SK Chemicals,the company exported PHMG to Australia and,in 2003,supplied Canberra with a report that the chemical may be dangerous to inhale,but “watched from afar while humidifier sterilizer using PHMG was circulating on the market,”a member of the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health asserted in an interview with the Business Watch website. SK Chemical denies knowingly supplying PHMG for use in humidifier sterilizer.
In 1996,South Korean hygiene brand Oxy had started using PHMG in a humidifier sterilizer product,sold under the brand Oxy Ssak Ssak (옥시싹싹). In 2001,Reckitt Benckiser acquired the South Korean Oxy brand from Oriental Chemical Industries,forming Oxy-Reckitt Benckiser,later Reckitt Benckiser Korea. One month after the product went on sale,Oxy-Reckitt Benckiser was reported to have made inquiries at two separate laboratories,in the US and the UK,about conducting a toxicity test. However,this never took place.
Several other companies in Korea made humidifier sterilizers with PHMG between 2001 and 2011.
The outbreak was detected in children between 2006 and 2011,and in adults in the spring of 2011;the mortality rate in children was 58 percent,while among adults,53 percent died or required lung transplants. [1] Autopsies and epidemiological work,followed up by animal studies,led the South Korean CDC to identify polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) used in humidifier disinfectants as the cause. [1] [2]
The main cause of the lung diseases was the chemicals PHMG,methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT),methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethyl)guanidinium-chloride (PGH). [3] These chemicals were previously used in shampoo,wet wipes,and cleaners for water and septic tanks,PHMG and PGH were believed to be harmless when in contact with human skin or consumed. However,experiments by the South Korean government found pulmonary toxicity of PHMG and PGH when inhaled as a vapor. [4] [5] PHMG and PGH caused pulmonary fibrosis when experimented on animals. This led to severe damage breathing difficulties and can be fatal.
Additionally,Oxy Ssak Ssak changed their bottle design in 2006,removing a safety feature
On November 11,2011,six humidifier disinfectants which contain PHMG and PGH were recovered. PHMG and PGH was banned in 2011,and new cases ceased occurring. In . [1] [2]
However,later on,the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not find a causal relationship that CMIT and MIT in humidifier disinfectants cause pulmonary fibrosis. This result,still,did not mean that CMIT and MIT were safe, [4] as the chemicals also affected the brain and skin to varying extents. [6] At least five victims used CMIT or MIT-based humidifier disinfectants. [7] [8]
Most victims used Reckitt Benckiser's humidifier disinfectant,Oxy Ssak Ssak (옥시싹싹),which led the British firm to various court indictments in the years following 2011. [9] [10] [11]
The 2022 South Korean film Air Murder is based on these events.
Asbestosis is long-term inflammation and scarring of the lungs due to asbestos fibers. Symptoms may include shortness of breath,cough,wheezing,and chest tightness. Complications may include lung cancer,mesothelioma,and pulmonary heart disease.
Oxygen therapy,also referred to as supplemental oxygen,is the use of oxygen as medical treatment. Supplemental oxygen can also refer to the use of oxygen enriched air at altitude. Acute indications for therapy include hypoxemia,carbon monoxide toxicity and cluster headache. It may also be prophylactically given to maintain blood oxygen levels during the induction of anesthesia. Oxygen therapy is often useful in chronic hypoxemia caused by conditions such as severe COPD or cystic fibrosis. Oxygen can be delivered via nasal cannula,face mask,or endotracheal intubation at normal atmospheric pressure,or in a hyperbaric chamber. It can also be given through bypassing the airway,such as in ECMO therapy.
Interstitial lung disease (ILD),or diffuse parenchymal lung disease (DPLD),is a group of respiratory diseases affecting the interstitium and space around the alveoli of the lungs. It concerns alveolar epithelium,pulmonary capillary endothelium,basement membrane,and perivascular and perilymphatic tissues. It may occur when an injury to the lungs triggers an abnormal healing response. Ordinarily,the body generates just the right amount of tissue to repair damage,but in interstitial lung disease,the repair process is disrupted,and the tissue around the air sacs (alveoli) becomes scarred and thickened. This makes it more difficult for oxygen to pass into the bloodstream. The disease presents itself with the following symptoms:shortness of breath,nonproductive coughing,fatigue,and weight loss,which tend to develop slowly,over several months. The average rate of survival for someone with this disease is between three and five years. The term ILD is used to distinguish these diseases from obstructive airways diseases.
Reckitt Benckiser is a British-Dutch multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough,United Kingdom,and Hoofddorp,Netherlands. It is a producer of health,hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in 1999 by the merger of British company Reckitt &Colman plc and Dutch company Benckiser N.V.
Bronchoconstriction is the constriction of the airways in the lungs due to the tightening of surrounding smooth muscle,with consequent coughing,wheezing,and shortness of breath.
Pneumonitis describes general inflammation of lung tissue. Possible causative agents include radiation therapy of the chest,exposure to medications used during chemo-therapy,the inhalation of debris,aspiration,herbicides or fluorocarbons and some systemic diseases. If unresolved,continued inflammation can result in irreparable damage such as pulmonary fibrosis.
Black lung disease (BLD),also known as coal workers' pneumoconiosis,or simply black lung,is an occupational type of pneumoconiosis caused by long-term inhalation and deposition of coal dust in the lungs and the consequent lung tissue's reaction to its presence. It is common in coal miners and others who work with coal. It is similar to both silicosis from inhaling silica dust and asbestosis from inhaling asbestos dust. Inhaled coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and leads to inflammation,fibrosis,and in worse cases,necrosis.
Smoke inhalation is the breathing in of harmful fumes through the respiratory tract. This can cause smoke inhalation injury which is damage to the respiratory tract caused by chemical and/or heat exposure,as well as possible systemic toxicity after smoke inhalation. Smoke inhalation can occur from fires of various sources such as residential,vehicle,and wildfires. Morbidity and mortality rates in fire victims with burns are increased in those with smoke inhalation injury. Victims of smoke inhalation injury can present with cough,difficulty breathing,low oxygen saturation,smoke debris and/or burns on the face. Smoke inhalation injury can affect the upper respiratory tract,usually due to heat exposure,or the lower respiratory tract,usually due to exposure to toxic fumes. Initial treatment includes taking the victim away from the fire and smoke,giving 100% oxygen at a high flow through a face mask,and checking the victim for injuries to the body. Treatment for smoke inhalation injury is largely supportive,with varying degrees of consensus on benefits of specific treatments.
Occupational lung diseases comprise a broad group of diseases,including occupational asthma,industrial bronchitis,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),bronchiolitis obliterans,inhalation injury,interstitial lung diseases,infections,lung cancer and mesothelioma. These can be caused directly or due to immunological response to an exposure to a variety of dusts,chemicals,proteins or organisms. Occupational cases of interstitial lung disease may be misdiagnosed as COPD,idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,or a myriad of other diseases;leading to a delay in identification of the causative agent.
Lysol is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt,which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces,air treatment,and hand washing. The active ingredient in many Lysol products is benzalkonium chloride,but the active ingredient in the Lysol "Power and Free" line is hydrogen peroxide. Lysol has been used since its invention in the late 19th century as a household and industrial cleaning agent,and previously as a medical disinfectant.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) synonymous with cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis is a rare,progressive illness of the respiratory system,characterized by the thickening and stiffening of lung tissue,associated with the formation of scar tissue. It is a type of chronic pulmonary fibrosis characterized by a progressive and irreversible decline in lung function.
Bird fancier's lung (BFL),also known as bird breeder's lung,is a type of hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It can cause shortness of breath,fever,dry cough,chest pain,anorexia and weight loss,fatigue,and progressive pulmonary fibrosis. It is triggered by exposure to avian proteins present in the dry dust of droppings or feathers of a variety of birds. The lungs become inflamed,with granuloma formation. It mostly affects people who work with birds or own many birds.
Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) is a form of lung disease characterized by progressive scarring of both lungs. The scarring involves the pulmonary interstitium. UIP is thus classified as a form of interstitial lung disease.
Pulmonary toxicity is the medical name for side effects on the lungs.
Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is an inflammatory lung disease of unknown cause. It is a severe,progressive form of bronchiolitis,an inflammatory condition of the bronchioles. The term diffuse signifies that lesions appear throughout both lungs,while panbronchiolitis refers to inflammation found in all layers of the respiratory bronchioles. DPB causes severe inflammation and nodule-like lesions of terminal bronchioles,chronic sinusitis,and intense coughing with large amounts of sputum production.
Acute inhalation injury may result from frequent and widespread use of household cleaning agents and industrial gases. The airways and lungs receive continuous first-pass exposure to non-toxic and irritant or toxic gases via inhalation. Irritant gases are those that,on inhalation,dissolve in the water of the respiratory tract mucosa and provoke an inflammatory response,usually from the release of acidic or alkaline radicals. Smoke,chlorine,phosgene,sulfur dioxide,hydrogen chloride,hydrogen sulfide,nitrogen dioxide,ozone,and ammonia are common irritants.
Potassium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the chemical formula KOCl,also written as KClO. It is the potassium salt of hypochlorous acid. It consists of potassium cations and hypochlorite anions. It is used in variable concentrations,often diluted in water solution. Its aqueous solutions are colorless liquids that have a strong chlorine smell. It is used as a biocide and disinfectant.
Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) is a guanidine derivative that is used as a biocidal disinfectant,often in the form of its salt polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG-P).
Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs,and is also known as pulmonary emphysema.
Air Murder is a 2022 South Korean drama film written and directed by Jo Yong-sun. The film,based on novel Gyun by So Ji-won,which deals with the humidifier disinfectant disaster that actually happened in Korea,was released on April 22,2022.