Selling Unverified Safety Sterilization Filters, Have They Forgotten the Disaster?

Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters Announces Interim Report on Humidifier Disinfectants

Despite Being Classified as Humidifier Disinfectants,
Distributed in the Market Without Toxicity Verification
Serious Threat to Public Health

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] After it was revealed that humidifier disinfectants cause fatal harm to the human body, the government halted their production entirely. However, there are urgent calls for countermeasures as "disinfectant filters," classified as a type of humidifier disinfectant, are still being distributed on the market without any toxicity verification or measures.

The Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters (SICSD) held a press conference on the 6th at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "Although the disinfectant components (disinfectant filters) installed in humidifiers fall under humidifier disinfectants, they have been neglected without any action and are still being sold," adding, "These disinfectant components have never undergone toxicity verification and could pose a serious threat to public health."

The disinfectant filters installed inside humidifiers have the same function as humidifier disinfectants, differing only in form. They are also legally classified as "humidifier disinfectants." According to the SICSD, disinfectant filters are classified as a type of humidifier disinfectant under the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "Designation of Quasi-Drug Scope" notice and the "Special Act on Relief for Damage Caused by Humidifier Disinfectants."

According to the SICSD investigation, many home appliance manufacturers sold humidifiers equipped with disinfectant filters until 2011. Production of these humidifiers stopped after the humidifier disinfectant issue surfaced. However, due to the lack of clear government safety verification or follow-up measures, the humidifier sellers still sell disinfectant filters as one of the consumable parts. On this day, the SICSD also presented a receipt as evidence showing a recent purchase of the product.

The SICSD pointed out that it is a serious problem that products classified as humidifier disinfectants have been continuously sold without risk verification. The SICSD stated, "While measures such as sales suspension, recall, and toxicity testing were taken for humidifier disinfectants sold as consumer products, no such measures were taken for disinfectant filters," adding, "During the jurisdictional changes among the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Ministry of Environment, no inhalation toxicity tests were conducted on disinfectant filters approved as quasi-drugs, and to date, there has been no government recall order." The SICSD emphasized the need for an investigation into whether companies manufacturing these products should be subject to damage relief contribution fees, stating, "We will conduct additional investigations into the neglect of disinfectant filters until now and consider legal actions."

The humidifier disinfectant incident began to be publicly discussed in April 2011 after cases of lung damage caused by humidifier disinfectants resulted in deaths or lung diseases among pregnant women and infants. The SICSD estimates that about 14,000 people have died after being diagnosed with diseases related to humidifier disinfectants, and approximately 670,000 users have suffered health damage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.