Vinyl chloride (VC) is used to engineer a wide variety of essential products, including life-saving medical technologies that aren’t easily replaced. Vinyl chloride poses essentially no risk to public health as currently utilized. The Biden Administration affirms that “... [T]he vinyl industry takes safety and health seriously.” 

These statements are demonstrable facts related to the safety of vinyl chloride. Oddly, one place you won’t find any of them is Beyond Plastics’ recently released vinyl chloride “fact sheet.” It reads more like a distortion sheet, as nearly every statement in the document is partially or entirely false, and carefully framed to stoke fear where none is justified.

Let’s take a critical look at Beyond Plastics’ key claims with the aim of developing a more balanced view of vinyl chloride and its uses, as well as the extensive measures that ensure the chemical is employed safely and responsibly. 

A thoroughly regulated chemical

It’s important to note from the outset that the production and use of vinyl chloride are heavily regulated and monitored by multiple governmental agencies, both in the United States and internationally. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set strict limits on the amount of vinyl chloride that can be released into the environment, while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces strict protocols to prevent harmful workplace exposure to the chemical. 

These regulatory measures, combined with advances in technology and industry best practices, have significantly reduced the risks associated with vinyl chloride exposure. Both the EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reached the same conclusion.

Straight talk about exposure

Beyond Plastics glosses over all these critical details. For instance, the group claims "vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen.” What it doesn’t mention is that vinyl chloride was classified as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based on studies of workers exposed to very high levels of vinyl chloride. As IARC observed in its 133-page review:

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) … concluded that the development and acceptance by the PVC industry of a closed-loop polymerization process in the late 1970s ‘almost completely eliminated worker exposure’ and that ‘new cases of [liver cancer] in vinyl chloride polymerization workers have been virtually eliminated.’” [Emphasis added]

Research published after IARC’s review only strengthened its conclusion, finding that the last case of cancer attributed to VC exposure was diagnosed 50 years ago.

Here’s the plain truth Beyond Plastics ties itself in knots trying to evade: industrial exposure to vinyl chloride from five decades ago is irrelevant to the general public in 2024. Americans are not exposed to harmful levels of VC through food, water, consumer products or any other typical environmental exposures— as the EPA and CDC both attest. 

Ignored benefits

As they’re wont to do, Beyond Plastics overlooks the significant benefits that vinyl chloride and PVC bring to society. PVC is a versatile and widely used plastic, with applications ranging from construction materials and medical devices to consumer products and packaging. Its durability, low cost and ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions make it an attractive choice for many essential uses. 

For example, PVC supplies clean drinking water–a vital public health safeguard–to millions of people while generating more than $6 billion in economic output every year. Put another way, the production of vinyl chloride improves the welfare of ordinary Americans, providing jobs and protecting the health of local communities across the country.

Costly Alternatives

All these essential uses of the chemical give the lie to Beyond Plastic’s claim that "there are safer alternatives to vinyl chloride and PVC." While there are some substitute materials for PVC, many are unproven, while others are inferior options with significant downsides.

For example, iron water pipes can cost as much as 90 percent more than PVC and expose consumers to harmful bacterial contamination. Vinyl bags preserve blood longer than their glass predecessors could, while blister packs made of the same material extend the shelf life of critically important medicines. 

Consider all the facts

Every observation in this post is easily verified by visiting the websites of federal agencies like the EPA. Since Beyond Plastics is led by a former EPA official with a self-described “expansive career working to protect public health and the environment,” we’re forced to ask an awkward question: 

If the activist group wants to give Americans “the facts” about vinyl chloride, why did it exclude so many of them?