By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
In just 17 months, 14 workers at the production plant of Hankook Tire have seen sudden deaths. Co-workers claim the main cause of the deaths was toxic chemicals used during the production process, but the company has denied this. The Ministry of Labor has launched a probe into the relationship between the working environment and the deaths.
The workers at the tire company's factories in Daejeon and Geumsan, North Chungcheong Province, died suddenly during the period from May 2006 to October 2007. The reasons given were heart disease, lung cancer, accidental death and suicide.
Among them, seven or half of the death toll, died of heart attacks. Co-workers said the solvent used in the workplace is harmful and causes death.
The solvent, HV-250, is produced in Korea and does not contain benzene, a chemical known to be harmful. It evaporates at room temperature and is easily inhaled.
According to MBC TV, mice exposed to the chemical have seven times higher creatine phosphokinase (CPK) levels, an enzyme that is present when the heart is stressed, than those unexposed to the chemical..
Factory workers complained of dizziness after work.
Though workers raised questions as to whether the material had caused the deaths and has the potential to kill more in the future, the tire maker allegedly ignored all the complaints. Moreover, the survivors of the deceased said the company tried to play down the issue by limiting the causes to personal health management.
The wife of a deceased worker said company officials collected personal information about her husband, claiming he was prone to heart ailments, while she claimed it was industrial mismanagement.
Hankook Tire remained silent about the allegations. Its press relations agent Kim Ji-hoon said the solvent is used by other tire makers, too. However, he said he doesn't know whether the workers were informed about the toxicity of the solvent and how education on its management was conducted. Kim also alleged that the tire maker has been researching relations between the solvent and the human body since October and has not proven anything yet.
Asked whether the company has collected personal information without consent, he said he does not know.
The Ministry of Labor is investigating the relationship of the company's working environment and its effect on workers' health. Kim Jeong-yeon, a ministry official, said if it is proven they died as a result of toxicity and side effects, survivors could be recognized as industrial disaster victims. Also, if the company is found to have not followed governmental guidelines on workers' education and management rules, it will be punished.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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