<Anchor> At the



end of last year, an environmental hormone that was hundreds of times higher than the standard value was detected in a plastic baby bathtub sold by Daiso.

The environmental hormone in this problem is one of the chemicals that soften plastics and is known to be particularly bad for human liver and kidneys.

However, it was confirmed as a result of our interview that the chemical was also detected in the sealing material used to tightly seal the water tanks of some apartments and buildings.

This means that the tap water we use every day to eat and wash may contain the chemical in question.

But the bigger problem is that there is currently no standard for judging it.



Reporter Jang Hoon-gyeong covered it alone.



<Reporter> This



is the inside of an apartment water tank in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do.



A white rubber-like substance sticks out between the water tank panels.



It is a sealing material that prevents water leakage by blocking gaps in the joint area.




The situation is similar inside the water tank of several multi-use facilities such as train stations and schools.



Industry explanations are that PVC sealing materials are mostly used for water tanks in multi-use facilities.



[Water tank industry person: (PVC sealing material) The time is shortened a lot in the process of attaching.

PVC is a bit cheaper and cheaper.] We



asked an accredited agency to analyze the composition of a PVC sealing material product, which is widely used.



DINP, a kind of environmental hormone, was detected at 37,000 PPM.



This is more than 37 times higher than the 1,000 PPM of the DINP regulation applied to products for children under the age of 13 years.



[Sung-Heon Ham/Professor, Department of Occupational Environmental Medicine, Gachon University Gil Hospital: Children, the elderly, and pregnant women have no choice but to ingest or contact water from the water tank.

Countermeasures need to be prepared.]



Still, there is no DINP regulation standard for the sealing material itself, and there has not been even a test or research on whether water that has been in contact with the sealing material in which DINP has been detected for a long time has no problem.




All materials that touch tap water must be certified, but none of the PVC sealing materials are certified for water use.



[Korea Water Technology Certification Institute official: I don't know why the (sealing material) company does not apply for (certification) to us.] In



the case of water tanks, parts such as panels and sealing materials were not individually certified, and water was stored in the water tank for two weeks. It is pointed out that if there is no problem by performing a water quality test afterwards, certification is given to the entire water tank.



[Water tank cleaning company official: A common phenomenon is that there is repeated water pressure, so the water literally drains and enters, so as time passes, (sealing material) comes out naturally.] The



actual reporter immersed the sealing material in the water tank, and about a month later The surface was observed to peel off.



[Kim Doo-il/Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dankook University: The ingredients keep changing little by little over time.

I have to research on these kinds of chemical substances to be managed urgently.]



DINP is also missing in the regular water quality inspection items, but the actual condition investigation is urgent.



(Video coverage: Kang Dong-cheol, video editing: Park Ki-deok)    



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