By Kim Se-jeong
A woman who contracted a lung disease after using humidifier sterilizers since 2001 died last week, pushing the death toll from the products to 142, a civic environmental health organization said Monday.
According to the Asian Citizen’s Center on Environment and Health (ACCEH), a civic organization representing victims of humidifier sterilizers, Lee Si-yeon, 45, had used products made by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, a British sterilizer manufacturer, since 2001.
Health authorities confirmed in April this year that the humidifier sterilizers were the main cause of her lung problem.
She had pulmonary fibrosis when she died at Chungnam National University Hospital where she was admitted on May 4. Pulmonary fibrosis causes the organ walls to thicken, reducing oxygen supply to the blood.
Relatives of humidifier sterilizer victims plan to visit England to protest about the company’s alleged negligence. The families and ACCEH representatives are expected to visit the company on May 18.
According to ACCEH, Lee began using the products in 2001. She used an average of four products a month during winter until she developed breathing problems.
The government began collecting data in 2011 after unidentified lung diseases killed several pregnant women in Korea. Public health authorities suspected humidifier sterilizers were the cause.
So far, 530 cases have been reported, and the government has offered financial assistance to 168 victims whose diseases were confirmed to be directly caused by the sterilizers.
All 11 humidifier sterilizer brands have been banned since 2011.
On Monday, the Ministry of Environment opened an environmental health center at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, dedicated to studying the impact of humidifier sterilizers.