Deaths related to the use of toxic humidifier sterilizers date back to at least 1995, seven years before the first government-acknowledged damage case, an environmental group claimed Monday.

According to the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, it discovered two deaths of users of the toxic products in 1995 after reviewing 5,432 damage claims made to the government from 2011 to Feb. 9.

The victims are a 54-year-old person and a 50-day-old infant. Both used a product manufactured by SK Chemical in 1994, the ACCEH said.
 

The humidifier disinfectant case came to light in 2011 after four pregnant women died of unidentified lung-related diseases. It was when the government officially confirmed the link between the health damages of victims and the toxic substances widely used to sterilize humidifiers in Korea up until six years ago.

So far, a state-led investigation confirmed a connection between 883 lung-related damages and the chemicals used in humidifier disinfectants.

But civic groups have been claiming that the number of deaths is well above 1,131, due to the delayed response and insufficient action by the government.

“The number of damage reports peaked in 2011 when the government officially started to investigate the case, but the damage reports continued even after the Health Ministry ordered a withdrawal of all of toxic humidifier sterilizers from the market in 2012,” said head of the ACCEH Choi Ye-Yong during the briefing on Monday.

Choi said that at least 54-68 people died each year from 2012 to last year, even after the problematic products were removed from store shelves.

“It is because the government failed to keep track of victims and their undiscovered side effects. The government should re-conduct in-depth investigations to check the severity of the victims’ health conditions,” Choi said.

The Environment Ministry, together with experts, is currently working on the fourth round of victim verification process to provide them with due compensation and medical treatment.

Since July last year, the ministry has been providing government subsidies to humidifier disinfectant victims in categories 1-2 with monthly living costs and nursing fees.

In December, the ministry expanded the state support for more victims whose suffering was deemed less directly connected to the problematic products, after lawmakers cleared a bill to create a relief fund for victims.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)