가습기 살균제를 통해 본 화학물질관리제도의 현황과 문제점에 대한 고찰

In 2011, accidental use of a chemical in humidifiers tragically took the lives of many people. Many of the victims were children. Nearly a year later another fatal accident occurred at a chemical plant in Gumi, injuring thousands of people. How could it happen?The safefty test for humidifier sterilizers should have been conducted since they are inhaled by humans. yet no afefty test was conducted and led to the deaths. Humidifier sterilizers were classified as just industrial products under Quality Management and Safety Control of Industrial Products Act and are exempt from health regulations. The chemicals(PHMG/PGH, CMIT/MIT in humidifiers are existing substances under the Toxic Chemicals Control Act (TCCA). The types of chemicals regulated by the act fall into two broad categories: existing and new. for new chemicals, manufacturers and importers new chemicals responsbility to supply data that ensure that the substances being placed on the market are safe for use. According to the Ministry of Environment’s estimate, 85% of some 43,000 chemical substances known to have existed, or still existing do not have authentic hazard profiles. therefore, there were no safety datas for PHMG/PGH, CMIT/MIT in 2011. The tragedies brought the public spotlight to the issue and changed the political dynamic and policy outcome. on April 30th, 2013, the Assembly passed the “Act on the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals”, known as “Korea REACH”. It is now scheduled to come into force on January 1, 2015. Under K-REACH, manufacturers and importers of all new and existing chemical (≥1 ton/y)substances will be required to report their quantities and uses to MoE annually. The priority evaluation chemicals (PECs) selected from the Korean Existing Chemicals Inventory (KECL) which are, manufactured or imported at or over 1 ton per year, are required for registration (including certain chemicals likely to cause significant damage to human health and environment even ＜ 1 t/y) , so do all new chemical substances regardless of tonnage. K-REACH will allow the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) to perform hazard evaluation and risk assessment. According to the results of hazard evaluation, MoE will designate toxic chemical substances. Based on the hazard evaluation and risk assessment, MoE will impose production and importing requirements necessitating substances undergo authorization, restriction or prohibition. Product notification will be required if the hazardous chemical substances contained in the product exceed 1 ton/y. Appropriate safety and labeling criteria will be issued by the MoE for the high risk concerned products based on the results of risk assessment. The law is very similar to the structure of the European Union’s Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). There are some important differences, however. I summarized Status of chemical safety management policies and limits through humidifier disinfectants accident. I tried a comparative analysis of REACH regulation in E.U and especially focused on whether it can prevent similar problems like humidifier sterilizers.