5 toxins banned from spray products

The Ministry of Environment said Friday that it is set to ban sales of spray-type household products that contain five substances including MIT and DDAC.

MIT is one of the substances contained in the toxic humidifier disinfectant which has led to a loss of some 200 lives since 2008. Authorities are still investigating a possible correlation between the use of MIT and lung-related diseases.

MIT was designated a harmful chemical substance in September 2012 and the use of it in products is now regulated through the Chemical Registration and Assessment Act.

In May last year the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute conducted a safety test on 58 spray-type items after the ministry ordered a health risk assessment on household products.

Twelve months later the KEITI discovered that three of the items contained up to 124 ppm of MIT, three times more than the KEITI recommended amount of 37 ppm. 

Although the KEITI said that it was not a fatal dose that would affect the health of users, the ministry said it would immediately ban the use of MIT and four other toxic chemicals in spray-type items and urge companies to recall products.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)