Seven out of ten forensic experts, who took up the task identifying Tsunami victims in Thailand, have turned into victims them self’s, by suffering from asthma symptoms. And it can go from bad to worse. The number of people, who get ill from working with identifications, is expected to increase. Until now, no one has started to exanimate the hundreds of police officers and investigators, who were involved in the work in Thailand, the Swedish magazine Polistidningen writes.
Several of the Swedes who went to Thailand, and worked with the identification of Tsunami victims, felt that they got difficulties, like they suffered from asthma. Centrum för folkhälsa, (The Centre For peoples Health), have now finished the examination of ten forensic doctors, who were involved in the demanding work in Thailand, and in similar situations in Sweden. And seven out of them, suffer from asthma like complications. And two of those, who never smoked, suffer from respiratory illness.
And now there is a risk, that also the police officers and investigators, who took a share of that work, can have been hit by similar illness.
“I would not be surprised, if there are similar problems, in other groups involved. But maybe someone try to silence the problem away”, say consultant Magnus Svartengren, who is the head of “Arbets- och miljömedicin på Centrum för folkhälsa”, the clinic of labour and environment medicine, writes Polistidningen.
It’s likely that several different chemicals have coursed the respiratory suffering. Directly after the disaster, the dead bodies were coated with chemicals, to prevent diseases spreading in the tropical heat. One of the used chemicals was insect killer Killgerm Lysol. Furthermore, formaldehyde, known for its ability to cause cancer, and give problems with the respiratory organs.
“Vi are now expecting, that the employees take responsibility, and start examine if there is any of our members, who are hit too”. Erling Staxang say. His is the head of the department of the labour environment in Polisforbundet, to Polistidningen.
