PVC plastic Vinyl An environmental poison

1
PVC plastic (Vinyl) An environmental poison

• Beverley Thorpe
• Clean Production Action
• Bev_at_cleanproduction.org
• www.cleanproduction.org

2
PVC (vinyl) - common in products
3
When labeled
4
Soft vinyl used in

• Childrens toys
• Imitation leather (shoes) and sandals
• Backpacks, rain coats, rain boots, bags
• Shower curtains, coated fabrics
• Cables on electronic equipment
• Coatings on wallpaper
• Vinyl flooring
• Medical devices blood bags, tubing, gloves

5
PVC (vinyl) common in households
6
Majority of vinyl (60) used in buildings

• Pipes for water, sewerage
• Cladding on the outside of houses vinyl siding
• Flooring
• Window frames
• Doors
• Fencing

7
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Plastic has problems all
along the

• LIFECYCLE
• Second most common plastic in use
• today

8
Products need to be considered in their life
cycle current production is too linear and
generates hazardous wastes
9
PVC is inherently toxic throughout its lifecycle

• Myriad problems go back to the same two causes
  that are specific for PVC
• It is made of chlorine
• It requires large amounts of additives to be
  functional

10
Chlorine
Production
EDC
PVC
VCM
Stabilisers e.g. Pb, Cd (0,1-2,5 )
Additives (content 7-75 )
Use - Disposal
Cl-polymer (Cl-content 14-53)
Plasticiserse.g. DEHP (10-60)
HCL
Dioxin (production, accidental fires, landfill
fires, incineration, metal recycling)
11
PVC production a toxic brew

• Pure PVC consists of 57 chlorine
• Chlorine maufacture may use mercury cells in the
  chlor-alki process
• Could be largest source of mercury to air
• vinyl production in USA responsible for 26 tons
  of mercury
• MERCURY escapes to air and turns into form
  extremely toxic at low levels
• Global contaminant in fish
• Neurological problems in children particularly

12
EDC production

• possible carcinogen
• Known water contaminant
• Known air contaminant
• EDC tars previously dumped at sea, then
  incinerated at sea, now incinerated on site or
  dumped down old mine shafts
• Very high levels of dioxin

13
EDC production and workers

• Lawsuit (1998) against 28 former exec of Italian
  VCM producers charged with responsibility of
  deaths by cancer of 157 workers settled with
  financial compensation to victims

14
Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)

• VCM well known to cause liver cancer
• 2003 Italian study found PVC workers had higher
  cases of death, tumors, lung cancer, lymphomas,
  leukemias and liver cirrhosis. Possible
  increased brain cancer
• Communities next to production sites contaminated
  by VCM in air and water

15
VCM into white powder

• VCM turned into fine power handled by workers
  known as PVC baggers.
• Increased lung cancers in this group

16
PVC the additive trap

• Pure PVC is useless hundreds of additives,
  softeners, plasticisers (phthalates) toxic
  to reproduction
• Stabilizers eg lead, cadmium, organotin compounds
  toxic releases
• Product testing of childrens toys and clothng
  found high levels of lead and cadmium

17
Softeners phthalates

• Now found globally in rain water, soil, food, and
  in humans and wildlife
• 90 percent of all phthalates are used in vinyl
  products
• Animal studies Damages sexual development in
  young rats, causes liver tumors
• In humans Impairs male reproductive system
  development in human infants and toddlers

18
Chlorine in dioxin out

• PVC when burned will generate dioxins the most
  toxic chemical ever made
• PVC will be burned in housefires, plastic waste
  burning, incineration

Bags of incineration ash from pvc combusion
19
Wonder why dioxins are formed in incinerators?
Trace the chlorine!

• PVC responsible for 38 to 66 of chlorine
  content in municipal solid waste- arguably most
  significant source of dioxin generation today
• No other plastic contains chlorine

20
PVC and POPS

• PVC is arguable the most significant source of
  chlorine as global dioxin precursor
• Global expansion of PVC industry a global threat

21
Burning PVC cables

• Current focus e-waste exports from USA
• PVC in cables and computers being burned in open
  firesdioxins

22
PVC creates acidic smoke (HCl) when burned

• I kg of PVC in an incinerator produces 1 kg of
  hazardous residues
• This is landfilled releasing toxins over time
• Incineration does not reduce the amount of waste
• Incinerating PVC produces dioxin

23
PVC IS INCREASING GLOBALLY-former long life pvc
products to enter current waste stream
24
PVC production increasing in Asia

• Biggest increase will be in Asia, --China and to
  a lesser extent Vietnam and India
• CURRENT PRODUCTION
• Japan produces 2,225,000 Tons
• Korea produces 1,221,000 Tons
• Taiwan 1,484,000 tons
• China 3,000,000 tons and
  imports 2,440,000
• Other Asia 2,100,000 tons

25
PVC producers in Asia

• Shin-Etsu Chemical Company (Japan, US, Western
  Europe)
• Shin-Etsu worlds largest PVC producer
• Formosa Plastics Corporation (Taiwan, US) 2nd
  largest PVC producer
• Solvay S.A. (European, Brazil, Thailand)
• LG Group (Korea, China includes 85 ownership
  of Tianjin LG)

26
Global trade helps expansion

• Shin-Etsu (largest PVC producer in the world)
  does not manufacture VCM but gets supplies from
  others such as Dow Chemical in the USA
• INDIA projected expansion of 10/yr mostly
  through imports
• China largest importer of PVC and second largest
  consumer of PVC just behind the USA

27
The PVC waste crisis
No time to waste!
28
PVC legacy about to hit

• 300 million tons PVC produced globally since
  1960s
• Half already disposed to landfills and
  incinerators
• Half still in current use (construction materials
  average life 34 years)
• 1960s construction waste about to hit!
• So what do we do with it?

29
What the PVC industry says
30
PVC is not and can not be safely recycled

• 0.1 total pvc use currently recycled
• Incompatible with potential recycling of other
  plastics contaminates others
• High collection and separation costs
• Downcycling shifts disposal problems to other
  products/countries

31
PVC waste crisis will demand more incineration by
industry

• the future will see a major increase in the
  recycling of PVC through energy recovery by
  incineration. This is because mechanical
  recycling levels appear to have peaked with no
  obvious hope of an increase to come.
• -Occidental Chemical spokesman, 1997

32
EU Studies on PVC (2000) - Conclusions

• Mechanical recycling will not contribute
  significantly to management of PVC post-consumer
  wastes reaching at best 18 of the total in 2020
• Landfilling releases hazardous phthalate
  softeners and will contribute to formation of
  dioxins in accidental landfill fires
• At most only 3 of vinyl will be recycled by 2010
• But increase of 80 PVC waste by 2020

33
The only solution to PVC problems along the
lifecycle is to

• STOP PRODUCING IT
• And use alternative materials in products

34
PVC-free alternatives exist!Many used in Sidney
Olympics 2000
35
2008 Olympic Games, Beijing

• Expected to stimulate PVC market due to building
  expansion
• Chinese govt banned the use of wood in window
  frames because of fire concerns so PVC replacing
• Anticipate 6/yr growth leading to consumption
  level of 6 million tons in 2007
• Low awareness of PVC problems

36
Other plastics

• Vinyl most problematic
• Polystyrene, polycarbonate, not chlorinated but
  uses carcinogens in manufacture
• Polyolefins (polypropylene and polyethylene) less
  toxic and recyclable major competitors to PVC
  use
• Biobased plastics the new trend

37
Government initiatives

• Germany gradual phase out of soft PVC, no
  landfilling of PVC, no spreading of hazardous
  substances via recycling,phase out of Cd and Pb,
  use of chlorine-free materials in certain
  inflammable areas
• -German EPA recommendations (1999)
• 274 communitites and 6 Federal States have PVC
  restrictions

38
Local authorities restricting PVC

• Spain 62 Spanish cities have been declared PVC
  free and award tax relief to builders who avoid
  PVC
• Anti PVC procurement guidelines in Austria,
  Netherlands, Nordic countries, UK, Japan and even
  USA
• Japan cities using non pvc pipes increasing
  public concern and action against dioxin
• Republic of Korea, CH, Belgium and Japan banned
  the use of PVC food wrapping

39
Unions

• German Wood and Plastic Processors Labour Union
• problems associated with this material must be
  addressedour organisation in Germany is
  committed to a medium term transition to chlorine
  free materials such as polyolefins and PET.
• -Gisbert Schlemmer, GHK, 1994

40
Firefighters

• International Association of Firefighters
• Due to intrinsic hazards, we support efforts to
  identify and use alternative building materials
  that do not pose as much a risk as PVC to
  firefighters, building occupants or communities
• Richard Duffy, OHS, 1998

41
Nurses/Doctors

• We support initiatives to reduce the harmful
  impact of medical waste, includinguse of the
  marketplace to develop alternative low-toxicity
  products, eg replacing pvc plastics, latex and
  mercury
• International Council of Nurses, 1998
• See Health Care Without Harm (www.hcwh.org)

42
PVC-free business initiatives
Wavin No. 1 PVC pipe producer in Europe
Why polypropylene is the better material
a standard plastic has been questioned
increasingly in recent years due to its chlorine
content PVC
Rightly, polypropylene is called the material
of the future. Because in addition to its
excellent characteristics, it has all the
advantages for ecologically clean reprocessing
43
Car manufacturers

• Ford, Peugeot, Daimler Benz, Opel, Volkswagen,
  BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota
  all adopting PVC restrictions
• In USA GM and Ford requiring non pvc for some
  supply lines
• Honda aiming for 100 recyclable, zero percent
  PVC car by 2010
• PVC becomes a problem during recycling

44
Construction Industry

• Greenpeace database on alternatives to PVC in
  buildingsPVC Construction Products and
  Alternatives Explained
• Roofing and Building MembranesInsulation
  Exteriors Siding, Cladding, Profiles
  CoatingsWindows and DoorsInteriors
  flooringInteriors walls decorationElectrical
  Equipment Pipelines and AccessoriesVisit
  www.greenpeace.org/toxics
• Visit Healthy Building Network database on
  alternatives at www.healthybuilding.net

45
Shoe manufacturers/Retailers

• Nike PVC phase out policy
• Leading European retailers
• eg Marks Spencers phasing out PVC,
• HM largest retailer in Europe no longer uses
  PVC in any of their clothing or other products

46
Electronics Industry

• Sony committed to PVC phase out by 2002
• Eg no PVC in all products made in Japan 50
  phase out in PVC used in wiring
• Elimination of halogen flame retardants and the
  use of lead-free solder
• Toshiba circuit boards halogen free by 2000
  (halogens are toxic, persistent and/or
  bioaccumulative in living systems have
  chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine
  chemicalshence polyvinyl chloride plastic is a
  halogenated plastic)

47
clean compostable natural materials
(McDonough/Braungart)
48
Biobased plastics the new trend

• Material production now esclating with
  Cargill/Dow facility capacity of 300 million
  pounds per year PLA (polylactic acid) for
  NatureWorks fabrics and plastic
• Sony Japan biobased plastic walkman

49
Biobased Plastics

• Raises issue of land use
• Raises issue of genetically engineered crops
  how is crop grown?
• But this is now the trend!
• Increasing convergence of chemicals and
  agriculture

50
Work to eliminate PVC in

• building materials, government purchasing,
  hospitals
• Demand labeling of all
• plastics to ensure avoidance
• of PVC plastic
• and dont buy it