Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Case Report

Mental health impact on a humidifier disinfectant disaster victim: a case report: Ye-Sung Lee, Min-Woo Nam, Hyun-Il Kim, Hyeong-Cheol Kim, Eun-Chan Mun, So-Young Park; Ann Occup Environ Med 2020;32:e15. Published online June 1, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2020.32.e15

In Korea, the cause of lung disease of unknown origin was identified as humidifier disinfectants in November 2011. In February 2017, the ‘Special Act on Remedy for Damage Caused by Humidifier Disinfectants’ was promulgated. Even though emotional and mental injuries caused by humidifier disinfectants have been reported, the focus of the special act has been on physical injury only, and criteria for recognizing mental health impact have not been considered. This case considers emotional and mental injury caused by humidifier disinfectants. After a humidifier disinfectant was used from January 2005 to April 2006, the patient's son aged 20 months was hospitalized with respiratory symptoms, and he died within two weeks. Also, the patient was hospitalized for a month with the same symptoms, and then she led a normal life with no symptoms. After both mother and son were diagnosed with definite (level 1) humidifier disinfectant lung injury (HDLI) in 2017, she took to drinking alcohol because of extreme guilt over her son's death. In March 2018 she died from acute liver failure due to alcohol use disorder. The patient's death was caused by continuous alcoholism, due to emotional and mental trauma caused by her son's death after HDLI was revealed as the cause. The government did not acknowledge her death was due to humidifier disinfectants, but the company that sold the humidifier disinfectants recognized her as a victim and compensated the family of the victim. There are still lots of psychological responses among humidifier disinfectant disaster victims. Mental health impact on humidifier disinfectant victims should be considered more carefully, and institutional improvements should be made into establish psychological interventions and measures.

Citations

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In vitro neurotoxicity evaluation of biocidal disinfectants in a human neuron–astrocyte co-culture model
Ha-Na Oh, Seungmin Park, Sangwoo Lee, Hang-Suk Chun, Won-Ho Shin, Woo-Keun Kim
Toxicology in Vitro.2022; 84: 105449. CrossRef
Health Effects Associated With Humidifier Disinfectant Use: A Systematic Review for Exploration
Ji-Hun Song, Joonho Ahn, Min Young Park, Jaeyoung Park, Yu Min Lee, Jun-Pyo Myong, Jung-Wan Koo, Jongin Lee
Journal of Korean Medical Science.2022;[Epub] CrossRef
Developmental Toxicity and Thyroid Endocrine Disruption of Polyhexamethylene Guanidine Hydrochloride and Humidifier Disinfectant in Zebrafish Larvae
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Applied Sciences.2021; 11(11): 4884. CrossRef
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Need for individual-based evaluation to determine the association between humidifier disinfectants and health injuries
Hyeong-Cheol Kim, Hyunil Kim, Eun-Chan Mun, Yesung Lee, Soyoung Park
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2021;[Epub] CrossRef

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Research Article

Psychological effects of a disastrous hydrogen fluoride spillage on the local community: Seung-Hyun Yoo, Seong-Yong Yoon, Kuck-Hyun Woo, Jin-Seok Kim, Seong-Yong Cho, Sung-Soo Lee, Hyun-Sul Lim, Yeon-Soon Ahn, Won-Ho Yang; Ann Occup Environ Med 2017;29:40. Published online September 11, 2017; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-017-0196-6

Abstract PDF PubReader ePub

Background

On September 27, 2012, at 3:43 pm, a hydrogen fluoride spill occurred in a manufacturing plant located at the 4th complex of the Gumi National Industrial Complex in Gumi City, South Korea. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychological effects of the hydrogen fluoride spill on the members of the community and to investigate their relationships with physical symptoms and changes in psychological effects occurring as time passed after the accident.

Methods

The 1st phase involved a survey of 1359 individuals that was conducted 1 month after the spill, and the 2nd phase involved a survey of 711 individuals that was conducted 7 months after the accident. The questionnaires included items for assessing demographic characteristics, hydrogen fluoride exposure level, physical symptoms, and psychological status. Physical symptoms were assessed to determine the persistence of irritations. Psychological status was assessed to investigate the impact of event level using the Impact of Event Scale – Revised Korean version (IES-R-K), and the anxiety level was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).

Results

As the hydrogen fluoride exposure level increased, the impact of event and anxiety levels increased significantly both 1 and 7 months after the accident (p < 0.05). The mean score of the impact of event levels decreased significantly from 33.33 ± 14.64 at 1 month after the accident to 28.68 ± 11.80 at 7 months after the accident (p < 0.05). The mean score of the anxiety levels increased significantly from 5.16 ± 6.59 at 1 month after the accident to 6.79 ± 8.41 at 7 months after the accident (p < 0.05). The risk of persistent physical symptoms at 7 months after the accident was significantly higher in females. The risk of persistent physical symptoms also increased significantly, with increasing age, hydrogen fluoride exposure, and impact of event levels (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The present study found that the impact of event level and anxiety level increased with increasing hydrogen fluoride exposure. Anxiety levels persisted even after time passed. The risk of persistent physical symptoms at 7 months after the accident was higher in females, and it increased with increasing age, hydrogen fluoride exposure level, and impact of event levels.

Citations

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A. Bosacka, M. Zienkiewicz-Strzalka, A. Derylo-Marczewska, M. Sliwinska-Bartkowiak, A. Sterczynska, D. Sternik, K. Rotnicki
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.2021; 18(21): 11216. CrossRef
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BMC Emergency Medicine.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
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Song-Eun Lee, Nabin Lee, Seonyoung Yoo, Dowon Park, Kyoungsun Jeon, Tae-Yeon Hwang, Jung Hyun Lee
Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association.2021; 60(1): 53. CrossRef
Obituary: Dr. Hyun-Sul Lim’s (1952-2018) life as an epidemiologist, occupational and environmental medicine researcher, and family physician
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Epidemiology and Health.2018; 40: e2018033. CrossRef

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