An eel farm in Yeonggwang, Jeollanam-do. As soon as I entered the entrance, I could see ‘formalin for fisheries’ in a white container. ‘Formalin for fisheries’ is a mixture of 37% formaldehyde in water. Formaldehyde, the raw material, is a ‘ class 1 carcinogen’. For this reason, even at the time of introduction, there was controversy regarding the effect on seafood, but it was judged that there was no problem with safety as formalin did not remain in fish if a small amount was diluted with water and the shipping period was observed. It is also used in some countries such as the United States and Canada, and above all, the reason why it is excellent in exterminating parasites was a big reason. Farm officials also say, “Formalin for fisheries is essential.” In particular, it is said that there is no place that does not use ‘fishery formalin’ when stocking young fish.
■ Formalin for fisheries causing ‘leukemia’…..workers are at risk
The problem is that during the process of spraying formalin for fisheries in the tank, the aqueous solution vaporizes, releasing ‘formaldehyde’, a carcinogen. Even if fish farms don’t have a problem, it will inevitably affect workers who breathe the air. Although formalin is excluded from ‘hazardous substances’ under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, ‘formaldehyde’ is subject to special management by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and is subject to work environment measurement. If so, is the investigation of harmful substances in the farm well done?
We looked at the results of the work environment measurement conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The total number of workplaces surveyed was 75,001 in 2019, 75,468 in 2020, and 75,377 in 2021. Among them, there are only 3 fishery-related businesses in 2019, 3 in 2020, and 10 in 2021. Not even 1% of the total. Most of the research was focused on the manufacturing and construction industries. At least, the surveyed fishing establishments did not contain formaldehyde as the measuring factors were noise, dust, acid and alkali.
While the farm was in a blind spot, a foreign worker who worked at the farm got leukemia and received approval for an industrial accident. Most of the farms are small businesses with less than 5 full-time workers, so they often use manpower through brokers only when necessary, so it is difficult to determine who and how much was exposed to formaldehyde at the farm. There are about 16,000 fish farms in Jeonnam alone, and it is estimated that about 8,000 foreign workers work there.
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■How much formalin for fishery was used?
We looked at the standards for using formalin for fishery announced by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The fish species used are limited to halibut and fish roe (rainbow trout and salmon), and the remaining fish species are allowed to be used after receiving a prescription from an aquatic disease manager. In addition, after use, more than 20 times of the water for treatment must be diluted and discharged, and it is prohibited to use it in offshore cage farms.
However, in the course of the interview, I received a report that formalin for fisheries is also being used in offshore cage farms. A worker who worked around the farms in Gyeongnam said, “Even in cage farms, the effect of removing parasites and water mold is good, so you can change the nets once a month instead of once every two or three months.” spray,” he testified. He also said, “Every time I sprayed the medicine, it was painful because of the strong smell that stung my nose, but the only protective equipment was a regular mask.”
How much ‘formalin for fishery’ is used? KBS has checked the sales volume of formalin for fisheries over the past five years. 1,435 tons in 2018, 1,472 tons in 2019, 1,359 tons in 2020, 1,435 tons in 2021, and 1,201 tons in 2022, exceeding a thousand tons each year. (Source: Korea Animal Medicine Association)
The dosage of formalin for fishery use ( ml/ 1 ton of water) is 100-200 ml for halibut and 1000-2000 ml for fish roe . Compared to the sales volume, it is estimated that fish farms are using it extensively and frequently.
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■I was aware of the dangers… Measures came out only after industrial accident approval
If so, did the Ministry of Employment and Labor not know about this problem? It was in July 2021 that a foreign worker applied for an industrial accident claiming that he had leukemia. Afterwards, the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a farm sample survey through a public contest for a research project titled <Work Improvement Plan through Investigation of Hazardous Factor Exposure of Fisheries in Aquaculture Farming>. Ten domestic fish farms and one cage farm were targeted. The report was submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency in November last year.
The research team measured the level of formaldehyde generated when ‘formalin for fishery’ was sprayed when stocking fry or cleaning the tank. Based on the average value of 8 hours per day, all 11 locations were measured below the limit of 0.3ppm. However, different results were obtained in the ‘short exposure’ immediately after formalin was applied. The researchers investigated short-term exposure separately for two farms, and at one site, the formaldehyde level exceeded the maximum reading of 1.0 ppm, and the 50-minute average exceeded the reference value of 0.3 ppm. In fact, even workers who received industrial accident approval were recognized for being ‘exposed to high concentrations of formaldehyde in a short time’.
Although it is a high-risk work environment, the surveyed farm workers were not aware of this fact. In a survey of 35 workers, 69% answered “I don’t know the types of chemicals used or the risks.” 79% of the protective gear worn while working was a regular mask, and 22% said they did not wear it.
Kim Ki-yeon, professor of safety engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who conducted the research, said, “It is necessary to evaluate according to the short-time exposure standard ( STEL, time-weighted average exposure value for 15 minutes) instead of TWA, 8-hour work standard per day). [ Related
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On April 28th, the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Corporation recognized the industrial accident of a foreign worker who worked at the farm after 1 year and 9 months. Even after that, the Ministry of Employment and Labor did not take any action, but only recently started preparing countermeasures for the issue.
First of all, we decided to strengthen safety education for farm workers. Within this month, we plan to reinforce the section on fishery formalin in the existing ‘Safety and Health Guidelines for Aquaculture Farmers’, distribute it to labor offices and aquaculture workers across the country, and use it as educational materials. In addition, on the 9th메이저사이트, an alert on the risk of exposure to formaldehyde was issued through KakaoTalk’s major disaster trend notification room, ‘Severe Disaster Siren’, and it was requested to pay special attention to preventive measures at aquaculture sites that handle formalin as a fishery remedyHowever, they are still reluctant to conduct fact-finding surveys for reasons such as a lack of manpower, and it is the business operator’s responsibility to provide personal protective equipment. Compared to the manufacturing and construction industries, the fishing industry has a small number and scale of businesses. But this is also where workers work. I hope that from now on, specific investigations and countermeasures will be prepared so that farm workers’ ‘right to work safely’ is guaranteed..