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This article is missing information about the surrounding details of the South Korean humidifier disinfectant case, such as a list of humidifier disinfectant products and companies involved in the case. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(January 2026)
The South Korean humidifier disinfectant case was an outbreak of lung diseases in South Korea,caused by chemicals contained in dozens of humidifier disinfectants.
On November 11,2011,six humidifier disinfectants which contain PHMG and PGH were recovered. PHMG and PGH was banned in 2011[when?],and new cases ceased occurring.[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]
The South Korean government officially recognized 1,814 dead and 7,837 injured victims;[9] however,according to Korea national apparatus,Social Disasters Commission,including unreported cases,estimated 18,801–21,931 deaths,averaging at 20,366 deaths,870,000–1,020,000 health damages,averaging at 950,000 health damages,and 8,250,000–9,630,000 exposures,avergaing at 8,940,000 exposures,occurred between 1994 and 2011 due to PHMG only.[10][11] Autopsies and epidemiological work,followed up by animal studies,led the South Korean CDC to identify PHMG used in humidifiers as the cause.[1][2] After it was banned,new cases ceased occurring.[1][2]
The humidifier disinfectant product with the largest amount of victims with 221 confirmed deaths and 300 confirmed health damages[12][13] was Reckitt Benckiser's humidifier disinfectant,Oxy Ssak Ssak (옥시싹싹),which led the British firm to dozens of court indictments in the years following 2011,still continuing to this day.[14][15][16] In May 2016,when the Korean division chief apologized to victims and families in a press conference and offered compensation to the families of those who died to those who were injured;it was the first time the company had acknowledged that its products containing PHMG were harmful.
At the 2019 Humidifier disinfectant disaster fact-finding hearing held on August 28,2019,a service report from the Ministry of Environment was released stating that LG Household &Health Care's humidifier disinfectant,119 Humidifier Disinfectant (119가습기살균제),made from benzalkonium chloride (BKC) causes health damages from inhalation toxicity,it was the third-most popular humidifier disinfectant product with 1.1 million sold.[17][18][19]
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