During winter months when the weather is especially cold, the number of people buying hot packs has continued to rise in recent years. Unfortunately, according to a recent study on November 3rd by the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), there has been a string of negligent accidents and the discovery of toxic materials which exceed the national standards.

 According to the KCA, the number of accidents related to hot packs that have been reported in the most recent 42 months (2013.1~ 2016.6) stood at 185 cases. The number of accidents has been increasing a lot.

 The types of accidents include 'simple burns', which occupied half of accidents (108 accidents), 'product breakage '(32 accidents), 'explosive fire' (32 accidents), 'bad smell' (8 accidents) and etc. Some hot pack are heated using hot water, others are self-warming. The serious problem is that these packs usually contact with the skin directly, but there are no safety standards.

 One consumer complained that he had a second-degree burn on his ankle. He used the hot pack while he was sleeping. Another said that during heating the hot pack, the fire spread to the microwave so a big fire happened.

 The KCA investigated the security of hot packs based on safety standards applied to heat pads which are similar to steam packs. After studying 18 kinds of hot packs which are currently on the market, the researchers found that 9 kinds of hot packs (50% of the products) show problems.

 Eight out of nine products were found to contain 1.56~39.88% concentrations of DEHP which is a plasticizer used in PVC containers that causes disruption of the endocrine system in people. That number is over 400 times higher than the acceptable standards (0.1%).

 Among them, three out of eight products contained high levels of cadmium (632㎎/㎏).Cadmium is a dangerous heavy metal which prevents absorption of calcium and phosphates. The levels of cadmium were over 12 times as high as the acceptable standards (75㎎/㎏).

 One product was found that failed to control the water leaks.

 Even though they were found to contain endocrine disrupting chemical, the products were advertised as “non-toxic”

 18 of the hot packs included no information about ingredients on the label. The labels only included the name of the product.

 12 hot packs included the address and telephone number, nine included the year of production, while the month of production was only included on one product. None of the products listed the temperature to expect or the duration of the heating.

 Warnings that people should know about to use the products safely were absent from the labels of most products. Eight products included a warning which said, 'Keep away from children and people with weak skin'. Three products included a warning to , 'Be careful of low temperature burns'. Finally, 'Do not display within reach of children' was shown on only one product.

 These products require more attention because they contain a lot of toxic substances that consumers can easily be exposed to. The KCA announced that it will take active steps according to the results of the study.

 Officials from the KCA said, "Based on this research, companies found to be selling products that do not meet safety standards will be urged to stop selling them and recall them voluntarily. We will inspect those companies and will follow their performance." They also said, "We are planning to urge authorities set safety standards for hot packs."

L.L.F reporter Ji-won Bak