Lethal humidifier sterilizers

In the American TV drama “CSI,” forensic investigators catch criminals by analyzing a bullet’s trajectory or tracing an insect or plant attached to a victim’s body. In another American drama “House” about an eccentric physician, a medical team begins its work by finding the cause of an infection at a patient’s residence. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says humidifier sterilizers are the cause of lung damage that led to the deaths of nine infants and pregnant women, including four pregnant women in April and May.

A humidifier sterilizer containing PHMG and PHG made the lungs of a mouse swell and made the animal difficult to breathe, the same symptoms as those who died from lung damage suffered. The safety test for humidifier sterilizers should have been conducted since they are inhaled by humans. Yet no safety test was conducted and led to the deaths. The manufacturers of humidifier sterilizers and related organizations should be held accountable as they either failed to recognize the dangers to human health or took the threat lightly.

More than 100,000 kinds of chemicals are used worldwide and more than 1,000 new chemicals are put on the market every year. Most household products such as soap, toothpaste, detergent and cosmetics are made of artificial chemicals. Caution is needed since they are often touched by the skin or inhaled. Last year, more than 2,000 British consumers who bought Chinese-made sofas sued the manufacturer and were awarded a combined 20 million pounds (32 million U.S. dollars) in damages. The preservative dimethyl fumarate, which is used to prevent a leather sofa from growing moldy, caused skin problems. In the U.S., Chinese-made toys using lead-containing paint were also banned in the U.S.

Household products enhance living convenience but also cause harm if they go against nature. Many people tend to sprinkle air freshener to fight bad smell instead of opening windows for ventilation. People used to hang wet towels or clothes or raised plants indoors to control humidity, but humidifiers are now used instead. Because people do not want to bother cleaning humidifiers or change the water in them, they use humidifier sterilizers. The human-killing humidifier sterilizers are a strong warning against excessive dependence on artificial chemicals.

Editorial Writer Chung Sung-hee (shchung@donga.com)