Why is PVC Considered Toxic?
PVC is not as readily understood by most in it's toxic nature since it is not PVC the chemical, but the chemicals that are used for the creation of PVC as well as those that are harbored in PVC and released throughout it's lifecycle that are toxic. Given all these chemicals together PVC can be considered the most toxic plastic on this planet.
Let's start from the beginning. When PVC is created synthetic chemicals called dioxins are released. Dioxins are harmful to our immune systems and reproductive systems and are considered a carcinogen (i.e. they cause cancer), yet they are prevalent in PVC products due to the process it takes to create PVC. Dioxins are also released at the end of the plastic's life cycle if it is burned, releasing them into the air we breath. Those that are not burned are put into landfills as PVC plastic can never be recycled, so dioxins are then released into our soil, water, and impact the environment we live in.
Do you know that "new shower curtain" smell? When you open a new shower curtain or rain coat made of PVC you get a smell from the PVC plastic used. And guess what? That offgassing never stops. Dioxins will be offgassed throughout the life of the product so you will be breathing them in every time you use the item. This is how prevalent this chemical is.
So is Dioxins it? Is that the only reason PVC is toxic? No, not quite. PVC often also has Mercury, lead, organotins, cadmium,VOCs, phthalates, and other metals inside it to give it the properties we are used to seeing with PVC plastic, such as bendability and pliability. Think rubber ducky, soft and pliable so you can squeeze it, which is often a desireable characteristic for many products it is used in. But with these latent hazards the risks outweigh the benefits.
One of the chemicals used to help make PVC pliable, phthalates, has it's own toxicity issues. Phthalates are produced every year for use in everything from PVC to cosmetics and research says the harmful effects that may be remifications from their use include "Early puberty in girls, Premature delivery, Impaired sperm quality and sperm damage in men, Genital defects and reduced testosterone production in boys, Genital defects and testicular cancer" (Source: Environmental California). There has been a Nation Wide Ban on the use of phthalates in items marketed for children 12 and under in the Children's Safe Products Act but this does not limit the amount of phthalates used in your normal household items.
Concerns of PVC Plastics, what can you do?
Many concerns lie with PVC use in common household products, but especially with products used for infant/child products and even those used in schools and other centers (see a compilation of documented reports on the risks of the creation, use and disposal of PVC products at the Campaign for Safe and Healthy Consumer Products website) Young children do not have the abilities adults have built up in our bodies to break down chemicals such as these since their livers are not fully functional until they are older, and chemicals such as dioxins accumulate in the body and build up over time (the half-life of dioxin molecules persist for 7-11 years according to the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice).
With links being made between the chemicals in PVC and concerns such as athsma, obesity, breast cancer, and learning disabilities like ADD, decreasing the use of PVC in our products and thus our exposure over our lifetime to the chemicals it harbors is a step many product companies and large companies (such as Target, Walmart, etc.) are taking. Some comanies, however, still are not taking these steps, such as Toys R Us.
With the prevalence of PVC products in today's economy and lack of available alternatives for the time being the greatest step you can take for your own heath and those of your family and friends is to reduce your exposure and make educated decisions when you purchase your products. Someone can't do everything, but Everyone can do something.
If you are interested in information on BPA please see my compilation article "Bisphenol-A: Should It Be Banned?" in my Green Resource archives.
Other wonderful sources of information can be found at SafeMama, The Soft Landing Blog, ZRecommends, and Healthy Child Healthy World besides the previous links throughout this post.
How to find PVC plastics in your home: HERE
Alternatives to PVC plastics are databased HERE
4 comments:
That's interesting, to say the least. It's kind of surprising that Toys R Us hasn't starting taking steps against this considering they sell toys aimed at children. This is fairly riduculous that it is so hazardous and still everywhere.
I most say I never knew that so many of the things I look at in my house are make of pvc before reading this post. It's amazing that we actually use PVC's considering all the problems that can be accounted to them. Coming up with some sort of alternative is the best thing that we could do to get rid of this problem. There is still the problem of PVC in landfills.
@bzieh963
The reason PVC is still everywhere is because the US government has not put any restrictions on it's use, let alone how it is manufactured. There are few alternatives at the moment to PVC and they are more costly, so big brands and stores that care mostly about their profits are will not make a switch to PVC free until PVC gets media attention as a toxin and it is budgt-appropriate for them to speak out against it in their stores. There are petitions available to help push them in the right direction and hep spread awareness so there is hope that in our lifetime a change will occur! Especially with the reform of the safe chemicals act in progress!
@hill.chrisM
Yes unfortunately disposing of PVC is just as toxic as creating it, putting it in landfills will make it leach into our soil and water, but burning it to get rid of it harms our air! It is a cheap substance that is very useful for many manufacturers, and until the alternatives are proven to them to be just as reliant (and cost effective!) as PVC, they'd likely turn a blind eye. Governmental action like what has occured in Canada and other countries will help push the change as well!
What you can do yourself is make conscious decisions to purchase PVC products. Consumer demand determines what is made and sold in stores, and we can help make this change possible by changing our consumer purchases, and spreading the word to do the same to others!
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