Why you should avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

 So harmful! Why you should avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC, PVC) is recognized as one of the most toxic and dangerous plastics. However, it is still used to make an incredible amount of daily necessities. It's not just children's toys and erasers. PVC is everywhere in our lives. However, it is not well known that chemical substances harmful to the body elute from here. Here, we will introduce PVC itself and the harmful substances that come out of it.

What is polyvinyl chloride?

Polyvinyl chloride (commonly known as PVC) is abbreviated as "PVC" or "vinyl chloride". Chlorine is reacted with one hydrogen of ethylene to replace it with vinyl chloride monomer, and when a lot of this is attached (= polymerized), it becomes polyvinyl chloride.

The characteristics of PVC are that it is resistant to water and chemicals, is flame-retardant, and has excellent electrical insulation. Originally, PVC is a hard plastic like water pipes (PVC pipes) (= hard PVC), but by adding a large amount of plasticizer (Kasozai), it becomes soft PVC (= soft PVC).

Soft vinyl chloride is called soft vinyl (soft vinyl) like a vinyl pool or a toy soft doll.

Main applications of polyvinyl chloride

Hard PVC is mainly used for pipes such as water pipes, building materials such as window frames, and credit cards.

Soft soft PVC is used for toys (toys), artificial leather (synthetic leather, synthetic leather), wrap films, greenhouses such as vinyl flooring, wallpaper and hoses, shampoo bottles, erasers, power cord covers, agricultural films. , Used in vinyl houses, etc.

A large amount of additives are used

PVC is one of the most additive-rich plastics, and nearly 70% of the world's additive production is used for PVC (Murphy 2001). A heat stabilizer is added to stabilize the polymer, and a large amount of plasticizer is added to deform it.

Phthalate esters such as bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are used as plasticizers, and bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol are used as stabilizers.

Chemicals eluted from PVC-Phthalate Ester

Additives used in large quantities in PVC may leach out of the plastic because they are not chemically bound to the polymer (plastic) (Patrick 2005, Lithner et al. 2012).

For the most familiar example, remember the eraser. Sometimes the eraser sticks to other plastics such as a ruler, right? That is because the plasticizer phthalic acid was eluted from the eraser.

Most erasers on the market are PVC. Look at your eraser. Do you have PVC letters? It's PVC. Next to it is written as follows.

"Erasers and erasers may stick to or melt on painted or plastic surfaces." In other words, plasticizers such as phthalic acid elute from PVC erasers.

Is PVC safe?

Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) are typical phthalates and are known as endocrine disruptors with symptoms similar to the female hormone estrogen.

Phthalate esters are ubiquitous in the environment. This is a pretty big problem. This is because phthalates act as endocrine disruptors even at low concentrations.

Although phthalates have low acute toxicity, they have been reported to have carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity. For example, it has been pointed out that it may increase the risk of breast cancer (López-Carrillo et al. 2010).

The European Union's (EU) RoHS Directive has designated four types of phthalates as banned substances: DEHP, BBP, DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and DIBP (diisobutyl phthalate). Regulations will begin in July 2019.

Impact on babies and children

The association of asthma / allergic symptoms with children in households with PVC dust (Bornehag et al. 2004, Bornehag et al. 2005) and ADHD (attention deficit / hyperactivity / attention), which is one of the developmental disorders seen in children. It has been pointed out that it is related to (deficiency / hyperactivity disorder) (Kim et al. 2009).

In Japan, dangerous phthalates are used for toys that infants and babies may eat (specifically, toys under the age of 3), such as packages that food may come in contact with and soft vinyl dolls. The use of containing polyvinyl chloride is restricted.

Instead, it contains another chemical, but it's unclear what it is. Furthermore, the fact that the use of phthalates is not regulated for toys for children over the age of 3 means that the PVC toys used by the older brother will be picked up and licked by the baby of the younger brother or sister. Is very likely

Summary

Check the material when you buy the item. "PVC" or "vinyl chloride resin" is written on the material display.

If you are not using phthalic acid, it is clearly stated as "non-phthalic acid". In English, it is written as "Phthalate free". PVCs that are not labeled as non-phthalic acid can be considered to contain phthalic acid.

Polychlorinated vinyl chloride is generally a harmful plastic. Avoid it as much as possible and avoid using it.