[Health Tip] Toxic Cleaning Agents Threaten Worker Health... "Prevent with Special Medical Examinations"

Workers exposed to hazardous factors, such as those handling chemical substances in factories, are advised to undergo regular special health examinations.

[Image provided by GC Green Cross Medical Foundation]

According to GC Green Cross Medical Foundation on the 16th, recent acute poisoning incidents caused by hazardous substances have threatened the health of workers at workplaces with cleaning processes. Industrial cleaning agents that cause acute poisoning are chemical substances used primarily in industrial sites to remove foreign substances from products during the manufacturing of electronic components.

Exposure to industrial cleaning agents can cause symptoms such as skin dryness, congestion, erythema, and blistering skin rashes, as well as central nervous system depression leading to unconsciousness or coma. Elevated liver enzyme levels can result in jaundice or hepatomegaly, and in severe cases, it can be life-threatening. In response, the government regulated the use of dichloromethane, methylene chloride, and methyl chloride?previously used as cleaning agents?starting in 2020. However, some workplaces have secretly continued using these substances or replaced them with more toxic alternatives such as trichloromethane (chloroform).

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, a major industrial accident involving group toxic poisoning due to trichloromethane exposure occurred in the Gyeongnam region between February and March last year. Additionally, in March this year, seven workers at an electronic parts manufacturer in the Gyeonggi region were treated for acute toxic hepatitis poisoning. Consequently, the government has mandated periodic special health examinations for workers exposed to hazardous factors, and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency recommends halting work involving cleaning agents containing trichloromethane without safety and health measures such as local exhaust ventilation systems.

However, the foundation explains that workplace managers and workers exposed to hazardous factors lack sufficient awareness. For example, in Gyeonggi-do, which has the largest number of businesses and workers nationwide, only about 8% of eligible workers undergo special health examinations.

Special health examinations are health checkups that workers exposed to hazardous factors, as defined in Article 130 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, must undergo regularly. Since employers bear the cost, there is no financial burden on workers. Through these examinations, occupational diseases can be detected early, enabling prompt follow-up care or treatment to maintain and protect workers' health. In particular, toxic hepatitis often shows no outward symptoms until it leads to death and can only be detected through liver function tests, making special health examinations essential for workers handling cleaning agents, according to the foundation's advice.

Choi Jeong-ae, Director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Center at GC Green Cross Medical Foundation, stated, "Workplaces with a high likelihood of exposure to hazardous factors must thoroughly understand the detailed information about chemical substances to provide workers with sufficient guidance on their hazards and education on proper protective equipment use. Regular special health examinations must be conducted." She added, "We hope many workers recognize the importance of special health examinations and, through continuous screening, can proactively detect occupational diseases and lead healthy lives."

Meanwhile, GC Green Cross Medical Foundation opened a Special Health Examination Center last year to provide accurate special health examinations for workers in various industries exposed to occupational hazardous factors and is conducting biological exposure marker testing.

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