S. Korea confirms 35 additional victims of toxic humidifier sterilizers

SEJONG, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s government said Thursday it has confirmed 35 additional victims of toxic humidifier disinfectants, including 17 deaths, as a series of trials is under way against the manufacturers of the product and company executives.

Following the Ministry of Environment’s announcement, the total number of victims confirmed by the government rose to 256.

The ministry has been reviewing the cases after receiving 752 applications last year. It was the third time for the ministry to go through the victim verification process on the toxic humidifiers.

During the first and second rounds of investigation conducted between July 2014 to April 2015, 221 people out of 530 applicants were confirmed as victims. The 221 people included 95 deaths.

The number of victims is likely to increase as the government started receiving another set of applications in April. A total of 2,961 cases have been filed as of Aug. 11.

The government said it has so far distributed a total of 3.77 billion won (US$3.4 million) to the victims and their families for medical expenses since May 2014.

The humidifier disinfectant case came to light after four pregnant women died of unknown lung problems in 2011. A government-led investigation confirmed a connection between more than a hundred people who died of lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers.

No products of Britain’s Oxy Rekitte Benckiser are found on the shelves of a retail store in Seoul amid a consumer boycott on June 27, 2016. Angry South Korean consumers have been staging a boycott campaign nationwide as the British company’s toxic humidifier disinfectants are suspected of having claimed scores of lives in the country.