가습기살균제로 인한 피해와 국가의 위험관리책임

Abstract

As a damage case caused by humidifier disinfectants is a large-scale fatal case caused by everyday products that happened for the first time in the world, it is a biocide damage case caused by the abuse of chemical substances. Several kinds of chemicals are used in humidified disinfectants. The major components that became a problem include PHMG(polyhexamethylene guanidine and PGH Oligo[2-(2-ethoxy) ethoxyethyl guanidine chloride] CMIT/MIT(chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazoline). This is chemical substance in a series of being used as disinfectant or antiseptic. However, the Food Safety Bureau has controlled by classifying it as general product without completely considering possibility of inhalation toxicity in humidifier disinfectants, and announced only a countermeasure at a level of asking sale and use to be refrained in the status of failing even to properly grasp the actual condition of humidifier disinfectants, which are being distributed, without revealing even data on epidemiologic investigation and toxicity evaluation on humidifier disinfectants. Moreover, the Ministry of Health & Welfare didn't devise a prior measure for preventing expansion in damage in the face of having been able to foresee a point that the humidifier disinfectant is a cause for serious damage such as the death caused by lung disease and the interstitial pneumonia, and is insisting only on the position as saying that a victim and a company of having manufactured and sold humidifier disinfectants need to solve even in the relief of victim. Meanwhile, it is the real situation that enterprises of having manufactured and sold humidifier disinfectants are disobeying this measure of the government. Of course, it can be said that there is its responsibility in the enterprise of having manufactured and sold by falsely indicating that a safety test was taken enough in Europe and others without revealing disinfectant components. However, a point may be indicated as saying that even a country, which is the main agent of management in hazardous chemicals, is not free from the responsibility. That is because a country needs to establish and enforce policy in order to prevent the harm in light of the people's health and environment by grasping influence of hazardous chemicals upon the people's health and environment, and to make administrative and financial support necessary for safety management of hazardous chemicals by measuring contamination level, developing survey, research, and technology, training professional manpower, and seeking for education and publicity policy for management of hazardous chemicals. Especially, the country needs to take responsibility in a sense that the country didn't take such action despite of which the country's non-exercise of authority ⅰ. leads to occurrence of risk in light of the people's life․physical health, ⅱ. the country was in a situation of having known or of being able to know the occurrence of this damage, ⅲ. the country was in a situation of being able to exercise the most effective authority available for avoiding risk.