<Anchor>



Many people use car air fresheners, but in some of the products distributed, formaldehyde, a group 1 carcinogen, was detected more than four times the standard value.

This is the result of a product certified by the Ministry of Environment.



This is Seo Dong-gyun reporter.



<Reporter> As



automotive air fresheners are made by mixing various chemical substances, they must obtain safety certification from the Ministry of Environment.



Currently, there are over 9,000 products on the market, and 30 were randomly selected and analyzed.



There were six unlicensed products without safety certification.



In one certified product, formaldehyde, a group 1 carcinogen, was more than four times the standard.



Long-term exposure to formaldehyde can cause lung irritation and acute symptoms of poisoning such as dizziness, vomiting, and convulsions.



Nevertheless, when the product was launched in 2018, it passed the safety inspection of the Ministry of Environment.



The Ministry of Environment selects products at random every year and conducts safety inspections, but only 2% of the total.



It is a structure that is difficult to catch even if you receive certification first and change the ingredients.



[Ministry of Environment officials: We presume that the product was produced by using the raw materials of the product differently from the time of reporting, and we will try to prevent illegal products by expanding the safety investigation.]



The Ministry of Environment also decided to oblige distributors to check the safety certification of the products sold starting next year.



[Isa Lim/Representative of the People's Strength (National Assembly): It is very shocking that the carcinogens were exceeded in government-certified products.

This problem must be corrected through institutional supplementation.]



It is pointed out that legal penalties must be strengthened for unauthorized distribution or production of products that violate standards along with thorough safety certification management.



(Video coverage: Kim Tae-hoon, Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol)