'Humidifier disinfectant victims waited too long'
By Kim Se-jeong
Representatives of the United Nations Human Rights Office (UNHRO) have expressed regret that a humidifier disinfectant scandal here took so long to get resolved, and expressed the need for candid dialogue among victims, companies and the government.
Two members of the UNHRO working group on business and human rights said Wednesday that they had met with the three parties during their 10-day visit to the country.
“The victims waited too long. There is a need for proper conversation,” Michael Addo, a member of the working group, said during a press conference in Seoul.
Their meeting with the victims came from the growing attention being paid to the scandal. While the government categorized 530 people as victims of the toxic humidifier disinfectants including 146 dead, more than 1,500 potential victims are awaiting recognition.
Addo said that Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is responsible for the scandal but also added that chemical providers involved should take more care about how their products are ultimately used.
Meanwhile, prosecutors questioned a Hoseo University professor, surnamed Yoo, over allegations that he fabricated research reports for Oxy, the manufacturer of the disinfectant that caused 103 of the deaths, in exchange for money.
The company used the reports to argue against victims who filed damage suits after the scandal was made public in August 2011.
Another professor at Seoul National University was arrested earlier on similar charges.
Prosecutors also said that Oxy RB Korea had received consumer complaints about health problems in January 2001, only three months after it began to sell the product. But the company ignored the complaints and pushed ahead with selling it without carrying out toxicity tests, according to the prosecution.
In the nation’s largest biocide crisis ever, the government presumes more than 8 million containers of humidifier disinfectants were sold between 2000 and 2011. It is moving to adopt stricter regulations on biocide products.