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KMID : 1156220190450040326
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Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
2019 Volume.45 No. 4 p.326 ~ p.339
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A Comparative Study of the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster and Minamata Disease
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Choi Ye-Yong
Lee In-Hyun
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Abstract
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Objectives: Minamata disease was an environmental health disaster of worldwide notoriety that occurred in Japan. The acknowledged patients total roughly 3,000, and the relieved victims currently include 77,099 cases. Still, many cases await acknowledgment or relief. The humidifier disinfectant issue is an environmental health catastrophe that took place in Korea. Over 9.98 million products spanning 43 brands of humidifier disinfectant have been sold and 835, cases have been recognized to date as relevant victims by the government. So far, 2,144 cases have been relieved by the fund of the producing companies. Four million consumers and 560,000 victims are estimated. Finding hints as to how to develop solutions in terms of fact-finding and prevention are the objectives of this study.
Methods: Fields visits, interviews, and workshops as well as reference reviews have been conducted. A comparison was attempted to show the similarities and differences between the two disasters on 38 items.
Results: Apparent similarities in the two disasters are the failure of industrial safety measures and governmental safety systems as well as relief systems for the victims. No comprehensive investigation was performed for all of the affected areas in Japan and all of the consumers in Korea. Both governments have tried to hide the faults and responsibilities of the companies and minimize the scale of the victims. Only after the government was changed through a general election did the new governments apologize and attempt to find political and social solutions through special relief laws.
Conclusions: Over the process of each event, in the beginning, debates took place regarding the cause and the heath damages involved. For both, medical and toxicological relations are the keys while afterward finding a social solution became the subsequent issue.
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KEYWORD
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Humidifier disinfectant, Minamata disease, environmental health
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