• 과학기술학연구
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.63-127
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• 2018

본 논문은 1994년에 첫 가습기살균제가 만들어지고 2011년에 가습기살균제가 원인 미상의 간질성 폐질환의 원인임이 밝혀진 시점까지, 어떻게 이렇게 유독한 제품이 촘촘한 규제의 법망을 피해서 만들어졌고 유통되었는지를 분석하고 있다. 이를 위해서 본 논문은 가습기 살균제에 사용된 화학물질들이 어떻게 허가를 받았고, 이것이 어떻게 가습기살균제라는 상품으로 출시되었으며, 이런 제품이 어떻게 회사와 정부의 독성검사를 피해서 오랫동안 가정에서 사용되게 되었는가를 법정 문서와 국회 청문회 자료 등을 이용해서 미시적으로 살펴볼 것이다. 지금까지의 연구들은 살균제 참사의 원인이 부도덕한 기업이나 무능한 정부 조직에서 찾곤 했는데, 본 연구는 이를 제조한 기업과 이를 심사한 정부라는 관료적 조직의 구조적 비밀주의, 위험에 대한 "평가절하 어림짐작"(disqualification heuristic), 칸막이 문화, 피드백과 소통의 단절 같은 문제가 가습기살균제 재앙의 중요한 원인임을 보일 것이다. 즉, 부도덕함이나 무능 같은 개인의 문제보다 관련 기업의 부처들, 그리고 정부의 부처 같은 조직들 내부의 소통의 문제가 더 중요한 변수였다는 얘기다. 개인이 아닌 조직에 대한 분석은 이런 참사가 되풀이 되지 않기 위해서 기업과 국가 조직에서 개선할 점이 무엇인가에 대한 시사점을 줄 수 있다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.358-369
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• 2019

Objective: This study aimed to introduce cases of exposure to humidifier disinfectant (HD) in hospitals and to present their exposure characteristics. Methods: We used data from 4,393 subjects who participated in the fourth assessment survey of environmental exposure to HD conducted by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute. In this study, we selected 301 subjects who reported their place of use of HD as a hospital. Then, we classified cases as 'Hospital-provided'. 'Probably hospital-provided', 'Individual purchased', and 'Unknown' according to the supply sources of HD. Also, we introduced detailed exposure characteristics for the selected cases. Results: Of the 4,393 subjects, 301 (6.9%) reported the use of HD in 392 hospitals (including duplicate answers for the use in ${\geq}2$ hospitals). The 301 hospital-user subjects included 139 survivors and 162 non-survivors. When we classified the 392 cases by supply sources, 'Hospital-provided' was 12.2% (48 cases), 'Probably hospital-provided' was 25.5% (100 cases), 'Individual purchased' was 59.7% (234 cases), and 'Unknown' was 2.6% (10 cases). Among the 'Hospital-provided' cases, we selected six cases and provided a detailed description of the HD use in this study. Additionally, we reported details for six cases that had purchased HD upon a doctor or nurse's recommendation and for three cases that had purchased it at hospital stores. Conclusion: This study presents various cases of HD exposure in hospitals. Because there may be a considerable burden of HD exposure in public spaces, including hospitals, further studies are necessary to assess HD exposure in hospitals and public places.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.326-339
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• 2019

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.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.295-309
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• 2019

Eight years have passed since the Korean government's medical agency officially reported that the fatal lung disease found in some hospitals in 2011 was caused by chemical disinfectants used in household humidifiers, marking the introduction of the humidifier disinfectant disaster. Over the past eight years, a medical-scientific approach has been taken by the Korean government in its efforts to solve the problems in terms of relief of and compensation for the potential victims. One of the unintended consequence of this approach has been the fact that the number of "official victims" recognized by the government is quite small compared to the total number of applicants who claim to be suffering from the humidifier disinfectant disaster. This is mainly due to the fact that the medical-scientific approach relies on excessively strict, rigid, and narrow medical-scientific criteria provided by medical experts for judging the degree of applicants' bodily damage from the use of humidifier disinfectants. As a result, this medical-scientific approach is becoming increasingly criticized by patients' organizations mainly composed of rejected applicants. Based on the analysis of the limits of this medical-scientific approach and after clarifying the social implications of the disaster from a sociological perspective, this paper proposes certain social approaches focused on participatory governance as a means of dealing with the current issue. Finally, the paper emphasizes that the act of taking social responses to the humidifier disinfectant disaster should also be considered a process of enlarging and deepening democracy in Korea.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.310-320
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of the retardation of administrative relief under the Special Act on Remedy for Damages Caused by Humidifier Disinfectant and to suggest the systematic refurbishment of this act for the quick and fair of relief of damages. Methods: This study was conducted through the application of the case study, literature review and systematic interpretation of law methods. Results: The disease subject to administrative relief under the Special Act is defined as health damage causally associated to a substantial degree with exposure to humidifier disinfectant. This definition is a strict requirement in light of the legislative purpose of prompt and fair relief of damages. Furthermore, the damage relief committee established under the Special Act judged causal relationships according to a rigorous standard in terms of medical certainty. This medical evidence-based judgment is a result of the committee's failure to understand the normative meaning and function of a causal relationship as an outcome of inference based on empirical rules and common sense. Conclusions: Humidifier disinfectant health damage should be defined as a health-related injury capable of occurring or deteriorating after exposure to humidifier disinfectant (HD). If the fact that a particular injury occurred or worsened after exposure to HD was found, then the damage can be presumed as being caused by HD. However, this might not be the case when the injury was considered to have occurred or been exacerbated entirely due to other factors.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.340-357
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• 2019

The purpose of this paper is to help develop a comprehensive understanding of the humidifier disinfectant disaster from diverse perspectives based on a critical review of the relevant academic research papers published so far in the fields of both natural and social science. The authors reviewed pertinent articles in the six academic areas of law, social science, humanities, medicine, toxicology, and environmental health. A proper understanding of the issue of humidifier disinfectant is a challenging task because diverse aspects of it have become related over the more than two decades since such products were first released to the market in 1994. Technical and esoteric issues such as the complex system for relief and compensation for health damages and the approval of chemical toxicity are known to be major impediments to viewing the bigger picture regarding this tragedy. The authors believe that experts need to consider a comprehensive perspective going beyond their individual research arena to gain a better understanding of this issue, especially since it was an alarm signal on ethics and the role of experts and scholars in Korean society. Besides the two professors arrested by the prosecutor's office, it should be remembered that medical doctors recommended patients use humidifiers and disinfectants, and the media was inactive in reporting on this issue. Furthermore, the current paucity of examination of the social and political implications of this tragedy calls for more active engagement by researchers in the humanities and social sciences. In this regard, this paper is a work of self-examination and self-criticism by the authors that could resonate with the overall academic community.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제38권2호
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• pp.166-174
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• 2012

Introduction: After 17 years since the first production of humidifier disinfectants in Korea, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that the odds ratio of lung injury related with humidifier disinfectant usage was 47.3 (95% confidence interval 6.0-369.7) according to a case-control study with 18 adult cases, including 8 pregnant women at a university hospital in Seoul. Results: From September 2011 to April 2012, one-hundred and seventy four victim cases have been reported to an environmental non-governmental group (NGO). We summarized timetable of humidifier disinfectants accidents, analyzed health outcomes (death, lung or lung and heart transplantation, pulmonary disease) of reported victims, and classified some information for humidifier disinfectants with health outcomes, and government action for this accident. Among the victims, number of death cases are 52 (30.0%), including 26 babies less than 3 years old. Sixty-nine victims come from twenty-seven family with 2 to 4 members per family. About twenty types of humidifier disinfectant products and about 600,000 product items a year have been sold. Fifty-two death cases used 7 different types of disinfectant products, including imported goods and some private brands of well-known supermarkets. KCDC confirmed inhalation toxicity of 6 products through an animal experimental test, and based on this observation recalled disinfectants containing PHMG (polyhexamethylene guanidine) and PGH (Oligo(2-(2-ethoxy)ethoxyethyl guanidinium chloride). Discussions: The use of these biocides involved highly fatal consequences among biologically vulnerable victims, such as pregnant women, several family member victims after semi-acute exposure. This is the first biocide disaster in Korea with non-specific targets, and unknown scale of victims, warranting concerns on use of biocides in the living environment. Conclusions: Special administrative agency for chemical safety and compensation act for environmental health victims are needed to prevent similar problems.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.468-479
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• 2018

Objectives: Recently, a report was published that the humidifier disinfectant CMIT/MIT did not cause developmental toxicity and was not detected in systemic circulation as a result of an inhalation toxicity test. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate any associations between CMIT/MIT exposure and developmental toxicity using the in vivo apical toxicity test method. Methods: Groups of pregnant ICR mice were instilled in the trachea with chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT) using a visual instillobot over a period of seven days from days 11 to 17 days post-coitum. For the in vivo apical toxicity test method, an $LD_{50}$-based dose-range finding model was applied to decide the dose range for inducing developmental toxicity. Results: Among the groups of 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg ai/kg/day CMIT/MIT, the exposure groups of 0.5 mg and 1.0 ai/kg/day CMIT/MIT were estimated to reflect the thresholds for the stillbirth and death of pregnant mice, respectively. The groups of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg ai/kg/day CMIT/MIT induced stillbirth rates of 2.57, 10, and 53.8%, respectively. Another exposure group of 0.75 mg ai/kg/day CMIT/MIT did not induce any deaths of pregnant mice and resulted in a stillbirth rate of 8% in only one of six pregnant mice. Conclusions: CMIT/MIT can induce stillbirth in pregnant mice. It was also concluded that CMIT/MIT moves through the pulmonary circulation system and then continues on through systemic circulation and the placenta. There is a possibility of stillbirth and other health causalities in humans beyond the lungs caused by CMIT/MIT exposure.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.181-190
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• 2017

최근 가습기살균제 사건을 비롯하여 휴대폰, 유아용 기저귀 등 생활용품의 안전사고가 빈번히 발생하고 있다. 이러한 사고로부터 소비자를 보호하기 위해서는 제품 안전관리가 필요하며, 제품의 안전성 정도를 평가할 수 있는 제품 리스크 평가 도구가 필요하다. 본 논문은 한국소비자원의 제품 사고관련 위해정보를 바탕으로 제품 리스크를 평가할 수 있는 시스템인 RAS(Risk Assessment System)를 구축하였다. RAS는 사고관련 정보를 분석하는 위해정보 분석시스템과 이 시스템으로부터 도출된 정보를 활용하여 리스크를 평가하는 리스크 평가시스템으로 구성되어 있다. 리스크 평가과정에서 제품 리스크에 영향을 미치는 인과관계를 반영한 베이지안 네트워크 기반의 확률적 기법을 적용하였다. RAS를 사용하여 어린이 제품 33품목에 대해 평가를 실시했으며 EU RAPEX의 RAG의 평가결과와 비교해 보았다. 그 결과 본 연구의 RAS의 결과는 전반적으로 EU RAPEX RAG의 평가 결과에 비해 낮은 수준을 보임을 알 수 있었다. 추후과제로는 사고영향척도 입력값의 주관성 저감, 위해정보 분석시스템과 리스크 평가시스템의 연동 등을 들 수 있다.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.381-393
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the association between the use of humidifier disinfectant (HD) and bronchiolitis and allergic rhinitis diagnoses in Korean children. Methods: This study used data from the $8^{th}$ panel study on Korean children in 2015. Of these 2150 cases, 1598 cases were used for the final study. Diagnoses of bronchiolitis and allergic rhinitis by medical doctors were self-reported as outcome variables. Whether children had used HDs or not, the periods of using HDs were used as independent variables. Results: A total of 77.0% had used a humidifier, and the rate of HD usage among humidifier users was found to be 35.4%. When comparing 'children who had used HDs for less than 12 months' and 'children who had used HDs for more than 12 months' with 'children who had not used HDs', the adjusted odds ratio (OR)s for 'bronchiolitis' were 1.38 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.36-1.40) and 1.80 (95% CI, 1.71-1.89), respectively. When comparing 'children who had used HDs for less than 12 months' and 'children who had used HDs for more than 12 months' with 'children who had not used HDs', the adjusted ORs for 'allergic rhinitis' were 1.44 (95% CI, 1.42-1.46) and 1.43 (95% CI, 1.37-1.49), respectively. Conclusions: The period of using HDs was statistically significantly associated with increased odds of bronchiolitis and allergic rhinitis. The results of this study will provide a very useful scientific basis for establishing the environmental health policy and using the educational data related to the use of humidifier disinfectant in the future.