What is vinyl chloride?
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, vinyl chloride “is a colorless, highly flammable, potentially explosive gas.”
What is vinyl chloride used to make?
Vinyl chloride is used primarily to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a hard plastic resin used to make a variety of plastic products, including water pipes, wire and cable coatings, and packaging materials.
Health Concerns
Vinyl chloride has been a health concern since 1974 when the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned its use in aerosols. Research has shown that exposure to vinyl chloride can lead to serious health concerns. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. EEPA, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have all classified vinyl chloride as a human carcinogen.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, vinyl chloride can irritate the eyes, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract. Escaping compressed gas or liquid can cause frostbite or irritation of the skin and eyes.
Chronic exposure can cause permanent liver injury and liver cancer, neurologic or behavioral symptoms, and changes to the skin and bones of the hand.
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/MMG/MMGDetails.aspx?mmgid=278&toxid=51
Chronic exposure can cause permanent liver injury and liver cancer, neurologic or behavioral symptoms, and changes to the skin and bones of the hand.
https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/MMG/MMGDetails.aspx?mmgid=278&toxid=51
National Cancer Institute
According to the National Cancer Institute, Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), as well as primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chloride
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chloride
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer categorizes vinyl chloride as a group 1 agent, meaning it is "carcinogenic to humans." Group 1 agents are defined as having sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals.
Additionally, technologies to minimize PVC microparticle emissions, especially at recycling facilities and landfills, should be implemented and improved.
The release of PVC microparticles contributes to plastic pollution and contains harmful additives. Therefore, minimizing their release would reduce emissions of these additives.
https://echa.europa.eu/
The release of PVC microparticles contributes to plastic pollution and contains harmful additives. Therefore, minimizing their release would reduce emissions of these additives.
https://echa.europa.eu/
Comprehensive Toxicology
According to the 2018 Edition of Comprehensive Toxicology, vinyl chloride is an industrial monomer predominantly used in polyvinyl chloride production. It is also present in tobacco smoke and found in numerous Superfund sites due to microbial dechlorination of perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780081006016/comprehensive-toxicology
https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780081006016/comprehensive-toxicology
Vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen, associated with angiosarcoma of the liver, lung tumors, tumors of the hematolymphopoietic system, and brain tumors. It is also mutagenic, causing the formation of DNA adducts including 7-(2′-oxoethyl)guanine.
Environmental Concerns
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a draft toxicological profile for vinyl chloride, highlighting its extensive use in the plastics industry and its potential to leach into groundwater from various sources.
Risk of inhalation vinyl chloride.
Production Emissions
The manufacturing process of PVC releases harmful chemicals and pollutants into the environment. This includes dioxins, which are known to be toxic and can have serious health implications for both humans and wildlife.
Water Contamination
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Database, vinyl chloride has been detected in drinking water in 22 U.S. states, serving about 324,000 people and reported by 77 water utilities nationwide.
Wildfire Issues
Under laboratory conditions simulating wildfire temperatures, burning PVC pipe material released vinyl chloride and other toxic compounds, highlighting a potential contamination pathway when plastic water pipes are damaged by fire.
Leaching of Chemicals
PVC pipes may leach phthalates and other additives into the water supply, especially when exposed to heat or sunlight. These chemicals can contaminate drinking water and pose health risks to consumers.
Previous Restrictions
In the 1970s, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and EPA officials raised serious concerns about the health impacts of vinyl chloride, leading to the passage of the “original” TSCA in 1976. Since 1974, the EPA has taken significant steps to ban the use of vinyl chloride in various products due to its potential health and environmental risks. Vinyl chloride is banned or restricted in the following uses:
Aerosol Spray Propellants
Banned since 1974
PVC Food Packaging
Regulated since 1975
Consumer Products
Federally regulated since the mid-1970s
These bans and restrictions aim to reduce exposure to vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen, and to protect public health and the environment.
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