Mysterious Korean lung disease scandal

Clip from the 2022 Korean film Toxic / Air Murder

Little known in the Western world.
Between 1994 and 2011, at least 1,553 people died in South-Korea due to the use of a air humidifier disinfectant that turned out to be highly toxic to the lungs. At least 6,817 people survived with lung damage. The number of unidentified deaths is estimated at 14,000, and the number of people experiencing health damage is expected to reach 670,000. In 2011, it was initially known as a lung disease with an unknown cause, and pregnant women , housewives , infants , etc. had lung transplants due to lung problems. Epidemiological investigation revealed that it was caused by humidifier disinfectants, and six types of humidifier disinfectants were recalled on November 11, 2011.

The mortality rate in children was 58 percent, while among adults, 53 percent died or required lung transplants. The main cause of the lung diseases was the chemicals polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT), methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethyl)guanidinium-chloride (PGH). These chemicals have been tested to be safe for use on the skin and when ingested in small amounts and are used in for example shampooing to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria. However, the product had never been tested for safety when inhaled. And that was exactly what happened with these products. Most victims used Reckitt Benckiser's humidifier disinfectant, Oxy Ssak Ssak (옥시싹싹), which led the British firm to various court indictments in the years following 2011.

It took long before the cause of the initial mysterious lung disease was indentified, the epidemic came up in the spring and went away in the summer. The spring is when the Korean climate produces dry air so the Koreans use humidifiers in great numbers during this period to prevent coughs. A large number of interviews and good detective work ultimately found that all victim's homes used air humidifiers and a humidifier disinfectant product.

Link to The Raven's Eye coverage of the incident:
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Detailed podcast by Rotten Mango:
   • The Silent Killer of South Korea That...  

Film Toxic / Air Murder:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_K...
https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%B0%...

Oxy Sacsac
https://web.archive.org/web/200406182...