Last week, Ginger Hervery, a reporter for Chemical Watch, asked us to comment on a report from IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network) that contained numerous misleading claims about PVC. Even though we were only given one day to examine this 92 page report, we provided her with a thorough comment on the report, its many shortcomings, and the well-established safety of PVC. From this, Ms. Hervey and her editors included a two sentence paraphrase of our statement in her story. In all, the article includes 445 words uncritically regurgitating activist talking points and only 38 words giving readers the other side.
We believe Chemical Watch’s readers have a right to even-handed reporting. Therefore, we will give you the facts they did not. Here is the full on-the-record comment we offered to Chemical Watch:
To suggest that PVC products are unsafe due to their chemical composition misleads the public. This kind of oversimplification is irresponsible and distorts the facts. Even the authors emphasize the importance of noting that this issue involves complex, multi-factorial diseases that occur due to a combination of genetic predisposition, lifestyle and environment. Therefore, EDCs are one of the environmental factors that contribute to increased likelihood or severity of disease. Overstating the role of PVC products in this context has a high potential of misleading readers rather than informing and educating them about emerging science.
Decades of scientific study and real world use have demonstrated the safety and reliability of PVC products. It is one of the most researched materials plastic in history. PVC manufacturing adheres to strict regulatory requirements, and for nearly 50 years, there has been no reliable scientific evidence that shows exposure to PVC poses any human health risks.
Additives used in PVC products undergo a rigorous regulatory review and approval process. For example, PVC medical products also adhere to the US Pharmacopeia guidelines and have been used safely for decades. A major medical product producer actually tracked the use of PVC medical products for more than eight billion patient days without any significant health effects. The unique benefit of phthalate plasticized PVC is improved blood safety and blood banking efficiency. The increased durability and flexibility prevents container breakage and bacterial contamination, and it allows for steam sterilization, heat welding, centrifugation/componentization.
Independent studies (including those considering the inhalation, dermal contact, and ingestion pathways) have demonstrated that exposure to phthalates in vinyl flooring and other products is de minimis if not non-existent, repeatedly finding no unacceptable risk. Even where vinyl flooring is manufactured with phthalates and/or where legacy products contain phthalates, the potential for exposure to phthalates from these products is extremely low. In response to public perception of purported health risks associated with phthalates, there has been a shift in market demand towards phthalate-free vinyl flooring; as a result, manufacturers have, as a general matter, moved away from the use of phthalates (specifically, ortho-phthalates).
Additionally, the report gets basic facts wrong like suggesting that cadmium and lead are common PVC additives. In reality, manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Australia moved away from these materials years ago (nearly two decades ago in the U.S.)