In addition to dioxin, chlorine production also results in mercury emissions and asbestos waste. Eco-novice | Powered by Blogger, Design by Anders Noren | Blogger Theme by NewBloggerThemes.com, Would you like more ideas and tips about Going Green Gradually? Plastic attracts other pollutants. Because so much PVC is used in construction and household items, accidental building fires have become increasingly more dangerous for firefighters and building occupants. Chlorine is the basic building block of our most infamous toxic problems: CFCs which destroyed the ozone layer, the dioxin contamination at Love Canal and Times Beach, Agent Orange, PCBs and DDT pesticides. Thank you for your support. The result: severe health problems, including cancer, immune system damage, and hormone disruption. These corrosive gases can spread faster than flames, trapping building occupants before they have a chance to escape. So products manufactured from PEVA is considered to be a healthier alternative to PVC … As part of the games' environmental design, the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney are being planned with an effort to minimize the use of chlorinated compounds, including PVC. Even at low concentrations, PBTs can be insidious in the environment due to their ability to biomagnify up the food web, leading to toxic effects at higher trophic levels even though ambient conce… The more colourful a plastic bottle/container, the more toxic it is. First the primer is applied and then the cement to join the pipes. Many PVC additives, including phthalates and heavy metals such as lead, slowly leach out of PVC plastics over time when placed in a landfill (many of which are unlined), eventually contaminating ground and surface water. Is there a danger with outdoor furniture? Have something to say? I personally would probably get rid of them, but it depends on how easily you can replace them. In those cases where traditional materials cannot be used as a replacement, even chlorine-free plastics are preferable to PVC. With a melting point of about 176 degrees Fahrenheit, PVC pipes may bend as the material approaches this temperature. In addition to that, most stores package foods in plastic bags. Management of the nearby Dow Chemical factory followed suit soon after, buying out the entire town of Morrisonville, Louisiana. Is the off-gassing mitigated because of being outdoors? Accordingly, shops need to be equipped with sufficient ventilation systems. Dioxin is known as one of the most toxic chemicals ever produced. Since the 1990s, PVC-waste is increasingly being shipped to China, India, or Africa for “reprocessing”. Due to increased demand, in various countries the marke Hundreds of European communities have instituted restrictions on the use of PVC in public buildings. Big construction projects such as the Eurotunnel between England and continental Europe were completed without the use of PVC. We find it all around us: in packaging, home furnishings, children's toys, automobile parts, building materials, hospital supplies, and hundreds of other products. The problems of plastics include extreme pollution from production, toxic chemical exposure during use, hazards from fires, and their contribution to the world's growing solid waste crisis. Use Eco-friendly and PVC-free Yoga Mats to Avoid Phthalates and Other Toxic Chemicals, Plastic-free and BPA-free Feeding Gear for Babies and Kids, The Best Potties for Early Potty Training, Gluten-free German Pancakes (just as good as the wheat version! There is a growing awareness of PVC's toxic nature, but the quest to avoid it is daunting. I still just steer clear of PVC all together b/c there are still the issues with manufacturing and disposal, but phthalate-free PVC is definitely better than PVC with phthalates (this comes up a bit in the yoga mat post, where I discuss so-called "clean PVC"). PVC is restricted from some city high-rises and military and aerospace projects. Polyvinyl Chloride can be injection molded just like other plastics but the inclusion of chlorine in the material complicates the process. Is PVC and Phthalate in toys toxic and dangerous for baby and child. Communities surrounding PVC plants are particularly susceptible to the toxic chemical pollution from PVC production. In addition, when PVC-products are accidentally mixed with non-chlorine plastics, they contaminate the entire recycling process. Many of these chemicals, called organochlorines, are resistant to breakdown and will remain in the environment for decades to come. While all plastics pose serious threats to human health and the environment, few consumers realize that PVC is the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice, a non-profit organization based in New York, calls polyvinyl chloride “one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created” [source: CHEJ]. Government policies sanction and encourage this practice. These chemicals are used as a stabilizer in PVC. Environmental Protection Agency401 M Street S.W.Washington, DC 20460, Avoid buying vinyl/PVC products whenever possible, and reduce your overall use of plastics. Ask them to support a PVC phase-out. We talked to the PVC Guru to get all the answers every parent should know. Some of these chemicals are defined as priority pollutants, which are regulated by governmental agencies because of their toxicity or persistence in organisms and food webs. Instead, many of these compounds accumulate in fatty tissue, resulting in contamination levels thousands or millions of times greater than is found in the surrounding environment. Although the glue dries quickly and forms a strong bond, it can be hazardous to your health if it comes in contact with skin or is inhaled. When burned, PVC plastic forms dioxins, a highly toxic group of chemicals that build up in the food chain, can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems. Its advantages are that it is highly versatile and relatively inexpensive. According to the latest EPA figures, less than 0.5 percent of total post-consumer PVC was recovered for reprocessing in 1994. The smell of new car interiors is a familiar example of what experts call chemical "fogging" from PVC products. Thousands of accidental fires in buildings containing PVC result in releases of dioxin in ash and soot, contaminating both the environment and the affected building. Article continues below advertisement Why is PVC harmful? We are exposed to the gas that PVC yoga mats emit. In its ongoing study of dioxin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests that there is no safe level of dioxin exposure. Dubbed the most toxic plastic, vinyl – or polyvinyl chloride – is used today in a superfluity of items surrounding us. In 1987, the town of Reveilletown, Louisiana became so contaminated that all 106 residents were relocated and every structure torn down, even the church. Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBTs) chemicals or substances pose a risk to the marine environment because they resist degradation, persisting for years or even decades. But the price we pay for a low-cost and seemingly harmless piece of PVC pipe or soft vinyl toy is far steeper than it may at first appear. In fact, Healthy Child Healthy World claims that PVC is one of the most toxic plastics out there. This is because melted PVC can give off a corrosive toxic gas. Vinyl (#3 recycling code) is commonly used as a nickname for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Garden Hoses Your typical garden hose is made from the most toxic plastic currently in existence: PVC (vinyl). Many vinyl facilities are located in poor communities with little political clout. For more than 30 years, leading health, environmental justice, and health-impacted organizations across the country and world have been campaigning to phase out this poison plastic. In addition, PVC plastic requires toxic additives, including heavy metals such as lead, endocrine-disrupting phthalates , and toxic flame retardants , in order to be made into stable and usable consumer products. Substitutes for PVC include traditional materials such as clay, glass, ceramics and linoleum. My guess is, unless your child is sucking on the furniture, the immediate harm to individuals is small. By cutting PVC use, you are striking a blow for environmental justice, and supporting the life and death struggle being waged today by local residents on the front lines of the grassroots toxics movement. Because these additives are not chemically bound to the PVC, the PVC product itself can be immediately dangerous to the consumer. Wagner adds that “3” and “7” also indicate PVC and PUR plastics, respectively, which his study found contained the most toxicity. Chemicals in plastic which give them their rigidity or flexibility (flame retardants, bisphenols, phthalates and other harmful chemicals) are oily poisons that repel water and stick to petroleum-based objects like plastic debris. Thus any dose, no matter how low, can result in severe health damage. Yes, off-gassing is not a big issue if furniture is outside. In the most severe cases, entire communities have been literally wiped off the map. There is increasing evidence that the same trends are being observed in humans world-wide, including decreased sperm counts, rising rates of certain cancers, deformities of the reproductive organs, mental problems such as attention deficit disorder, and weakened immune systems. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) is the most toxic plastic for our health and the environment. When reaching these locations the PVC is usually either just burned or put in landfills. Most human exposure is through food, mainly meat, dairy products, fish and shellfish (dioxins concentrate in the fatty tissue of animals). According to fire experts, it is not unusual for people caught in building fires to be killed by toxic PVC fumes before the flames actually reach them. Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds are unintentionally created whenever chlorine-based chemicals are produced, used or burned. This causes some concerns not only for the usefulness of the pipe but also because the pipe's materials might leech into tanks or water lines when the PVC pipe is exposed to temperatures near its melting point. Though it is an affordable choice for home interior decorations. Use Eco-friendly and PVC-free Yoga Mats to Avoid P... Thrift Store Find: "Like New" Birthday Gifts for Kids, Easy Eco-tip Tuesday: Unjunk Your Mail Box, Everything Eco-novice Knows About Cloth Diapers. Usually clear in color, the vast majority of … PVC is the most environmentally damaging plastic. A buildup of VOCs in the household (sometimes called sick building syndrome) can result in … Write to: The Honorable ___________________United States House of RepresentativesWashington, DC 20515, The Honorable ___________________United States SenateWashington, DC 20510Carol Browner, EPA AdministratorU.S. The rapid growth of the vinyl industry is proceeding in the face of clear evidence of the serious health risks posed to workers, their families and neighboring communities. These toxins are building up in the water, air and food chain. Dioxin has been classified as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of WHO) and the U.S. National Toxicology Program. Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is widely known as the most toxic plastic for health and the environment. Of the 14 U.S. plants that make VCM (vinyl chloride monomer, the building block used to make PVC) all but one are located in Louisiana and Texas. According to CHEJ, "Scientists have found certain vinyl chemicals linked to asthma, cancer, birth defects, learning and developmental disabilities, obesity, diabetes and other preventable chronic diseases on the rise.". PVC cement (glue) and primer is used to soften pipes and weld pieces of plumbing together. 2. They are found in vinyl flooring and harder PVC toys. This is a classic case of environmental racism. The numbers are pathetic. In the U.S., poor African-American communities are disproportionally impacted. Numerous companies and governments have enacted PVC restrictions and material substitution policies. Evidence suggests that, throughout its entire lifecycle, PVC is responsible for a greater share of the nation's annual dioxin burden than any other industrial product. Talk to firefighters, architects, engineers, plumbers, doctors, hospital workers and toy manufacturers about the dangers of PVC. Increasing scientific evidence suggests that many of these chemicals are disrupting the hormone systems of wildlife, leading to birth defects, infertility, reproductive difficulties and developmental problems in offspring. And yet, PVC is found in almost so many of the things we use every day, including pipes, window frames, toys, bottles, blister packs, shoes, credit cards, drawer slides, and more. PVC plastic is the only plastic made with chlorine. No one can escape contamination; every one of us has measurable amounts of chlorinated toxins in our bodies. On a practical level, heating PVC pipe can cause distortion. PVC contains dangerous chemical additives including phthalates, lead, cadmium, and/or organotins, which can be toxic to your child's health. Yes, it is true that PVC has some toxic characteristics. PVC (#3 plastics) have another nasty lurking, a toxic group of chemicals called Organotin compounds. 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