Old News Articles

October 26, 2005
PVC Wrap Contains Harmful Chemical
CRIENGLISH.com
China's quality watchdog Tuesday announced the result of their inspection towards PVC cling film on the Chinese market, saying that some kinds of the inspected PVC product contain an already banned chemical which would do harm to human body. This warning message makes the public think more about the reason behind it, such as PVC exporters in Japan or South Korea not using the product themselves. Our Shanghai correspondent Xiaoyu finds out more.

The long-awaited inspection was first initiated by enormous public concerns when some media reported that a chemical in the wrap would lead to cancer.

October 25, 2005
Wal-Mart calls for minimum wage hike [and phasing out of PVC]
CEO Lee Scott tells executives he's urging congressional action in a bid to help 'working families.'
CNN/Money
- Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he's urging Congress to consider raising the minimum wage so that Wal-Mart customers don't have to struggle paycheck to paycheck. Scott told Wal-Martdirectors and executives in a speech Monday that he believes "it is time for Congress to take a look at the minimum wage and other legislation that can help working families." "The U.S. minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been raised in nearly a decade and we believe it is out of date with the times," Scott said. "We can see first-hand at Wal-Mart how many of our customers are struggling to get by. Our customers simply don't have the money to buy basic necessities between pay checks."

October 20, 2005
POPs kill 5 million children a year. Lead causes neurological damage to millions of others
ANSA (Italian newspaper)
Rome, - Toxic pollutants kill at least five million children each year around the world and another 18 million suffer neurological damage because of lead poisoning, according to a top official with the World Health Organisation.  "An estimated 40% of the diseases in the world linked to environmental problems affect children below the age of five. Some five million young victims are felled each year," WHO's Deputy Director of Health and Environment Roberto Bertollini told Italy's Panda magazine

October 20, 2005
Wal-Mart goes more eco-friendly
The retail giant is leading a switch from petroleum-based plastic packaging to corn-based. High oil prices are at the root.
By Harold Brubaker, Inquirer Staff Writer
Wal-Mart is going green.The retail giant, which is also the nation's largest grocery seller, is beginning to switch from petroleum-based to corn-based plastic packaging.The first substitution, starting Nov. 1, involves 114 million clear-plastic clamshell containers used annually by the retailer for cut fruit, herbs, strawberries and brussels sprouts, Wal-Mart executive Matt Kistler said yesterday at a conference in Philadelphia.

October 15, 2005
PVC wrap makers reject safety allegations
By Guan Xiaofeng (China Daily)
Some plastic food wraps used in China are toxic and could lead to cancer, according to a quality inspection official in Beijing. However, a spokesman for a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wrap said that consumers are at risk only if the food under the wrap is cooked or reheated by a microwave oven. The wrap, or cling-film, is not sold directly to consumers but is used by many supermarkets, he said. "The plasticizer used to make PVC wraps contains a chemical that could migrate into food," Weng Yunxuan, director of the National Centre for Quality Supervision and Test of Plastic Products, told Shanghai-based daily China Business News. "Fatty foods are especially able to absorb the chemical." Weng said the chemical, known as DEHA, could result in endocrine dysfunction and cause cancer. Attempts to reach Weng on Friday were unsuccessful. However, one of the wrap's manufacturers said they are safe if used properly. "Such a statement is unfair," said Wang Zhihong, spokesman for the Shanghai Gunze Extruded Plastic Products Co Ltd, a Sino-Japanese joint venture that produces 2,000 tons of PVC food wrap per year. Wang cautioned that PVC wrap should not be used to package fatty food, cooked food or heated food. Neither should it be put into a microwave oven. "It is quite safe if you use PVC on unprocessed foods such as vegetable and meat." Wang said. "We've done our best to tell our clients to use PVC wraps properly, but we cannot guarantee that all our products are used safely." Wang said ordinary consumers cannot buy PVC wrap in supermarkets for home use. It is sold only to big stores or supermarkets.

October 13, 2005
Toxic chemicals found in some children's toys
Bay City News Service

October 7, 2005
11 hurt in plastics plant explosion
Cause of accident at Formosa facility in South Texas is unknown
Dina Cappiello and Eric Hanson, Houston Chronicle
In an increasingly familiar scene along the Texas coast, black smoke and flames streamed from a Point Comfort industrial plant Thursday, following an explosion that injured at least 11 workers. Two workers were taken to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.  Roger Green, 30, was in serious condition with burns over 36 percent of his body. John Hunt, 45, had burns on his arms and was listed in fair condition. The other injured workers were treated and released, according to Rob Thibault, a spokesman for the plant's operator, Formosa Plastics Corp. The blast at the Formosa  plant was the third to strike a Texas industrial facility this year and the second to hit one of the Taiwan-based company's U.S. facilities in 17 months.

October 4, 2005
From an Ingredient In Cosmetics, Toys, A Safety Concern
Male Reproductive Development Is Issue With Phthalates, Used in Host of Products;  Europe, Japan Restrict Them
Peter Waldman, Wall Street Journal
In the 12th week of a human pregnancy, the momentous event of gender formation begins, as X and Y chromosomes trigger biochemical reactions that shape male or female organs. Estrogens carry the process forward in girls, while in boys, male hormones called androgens do.  Now scientists have indications the process may be influenced from beyond the womb, raising a fresh debate over industrial chemicals and safety. In rodent experiments, common chemicals called phthalates, used in a wide variety of products from toys to cosmetics to pills, can block the action of fetal androgens.   The result is what scientists call demasculinized effects in male offspring, ranging from undescended testes at birth to low sperm counts and benign testicular tumors later in life. "Phthalate syndrome," researchers call it.

October 1, 2005
Signal, Santa Clarita Valley, CAEPA Confirms Toxins at Keysor:
Groundwater and soil at site of former plastics maker found to be contaminated.
By Adam Clark Signal
After years of investigations and legal proceedings dating back to the late 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finally confirmed its long-held suspicion that the soil and groundwater surrounding the old Keysor-Century Corp. site in Saugus is filled with toxins.    "We put in five groundwater-monitoring wells and took 60 samples of the soil," said Matt Mitguard, the site manager for the EPA."We found elevated levels of contamination, vinyl chloride and something called dichloroethene. In the soil we found similar kinds of things."

December 4, 2004
OxyChem investigating vinyl chloride gas leak
Pottstown Mercury, Evan Brandt
LOWER POTTSGROVE -- About 360 pounds of vinyl chloride gas escaped from a containment vessel at the Occidental Chemical plant on Armand Hammer Boulevard early Thursday morning. Plant Manager Sam Morris confirmed the leak from a PVC reactor occurred at about 5:30 a.m.

December 7, 2004
SHIN-ETSU TO BUILD U.S. PVC PLANT
By Osamu Tsukimori
TOKYO (CBS.MW) -- Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. said Tuesday it would spend 100 billion yen ($971 million) to build a polyvinyl chloride plant in the United States to meet an anticipated market growth. The world's largest PVC maker said it would also aim to raise its annual PVC production in the United States by 30 percent by December 2007. Its wholly-owned subsidiary Shintech Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas, would build the new  facilities either in Louisiana or Freeport, Texas. Shintech currently has PVC production plants in those locations. Shin-Etsu said it foresees robust U.S. demand for PVC, which is used in all kinds of industrial materials. The company has production plants in Japan, Europe and the United States. Shares of Shin-Etsu ended down 0.8 percent in Tokyo. The Nikkei Average fell 1 percent.  

December 7, 2004
Report: PVC piling up, posing major waste crisis
NBC 3, Central NY
BUFFALO, N.Y. A report released today warns that P-V-C plastic used in building materials, toys and other items is poised to create a major waste crisis.The report by the Environmental Health Strategy Center and Center for Environmental Justice estimates that 70 (b) billion pounds of polyvinyl chloride will require disposal in the next decade. The groups say that number will grow as (b) billions of pounds of the plastic used in the last 40 years wears out. The environmentalists are lobbying major manufacturers to switch to non-P-V-C materials for products and packaging. The groups say the chlorine- and lead-containing plastic causes health and environmental risks during production and when it's incinerated. Samsung and Firestone have announced plans to phase out the use of P-V-C in 2005.

December 7, 2004 
Report: PVC piling up
A P
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A report released Tuesday warned that PVC, a plastic used in building materials, toys and other items, is poised to create a major waste crisis.

December 07, 2004
PVC plastic by the numbers
By JOAN LOWY Scripps Howard News Service
- Polychlorinated vinyl at a glance:
- Annual U.S. consumption of PVC plastic rose from about 2 billion pounds in 1966 to almost 13 billion pounds in 2000, and is forecast to reach 15 billion pounds in 2007.

December 7, 2004
Public health group warns about impending plastic problem
By Joan Lowy, Scripps Howard News Service,
The United States faces a looming waste crisis, with an estimated 70 billion pounds of vinyl plastic facing the end of its useful life and no safe means for disposal available, according to a report released Tuesday by public health advocates.

December 7, 2004
Environmentalists Release Report on PVC Disposal in New York
By Joyce Kryszak, WBFO (NPR) GLRC (GREAT LAKES RADIO CONSORTIUM)
BUFFALO, NY Environmental activists released a report in Buffalo today showing New York is one of the top contributors to the nation's PVC disposal crisis. The state ranks second in PVC waste. The report says seven billion pounds of toxic polyvinyl chloride must be incinerated or put in landfills each year. But the findings also show the popular manufacturing product is never safe. Environmentalists say PVC releases dangerous chemicals, including dioxin, throughout production, use and, finally, disposal.

December 8, 2004
Buyers urged to avoid 'poison plastics'
By Gregory D. Kesich, Portland Press Herald
Environmental and public health advocates called on consumers Tuesday to stop buying PVC, a plastic used in a wide array of products, from vinyl siding to Saran Wrap.

December 8, 2004
Report: State burns too much PVC
WMTW8 News
PORTLAND (AP) - A new report says Maine incinerates too much plastic PVC waste -- and that presents health and environmental risks.The Environmental Health Strategy Center's report estimates that a larger percentage of PVC waste is burned in Maine than in any other state.PVC is widely used in plastic pipes, building materials like vinyl siding, toys, tablecloths and disposable packaging.But the environmental group's Michael Belliveau says that when that material is burned in waste incinerators, backyard burn barrels or on construction job sites, deadly dioxin, toxic air emissions and hazardous ash are formed. The Environmental Health Strategy Center is joining other activist groups in a new national campaign to persuade two big PVC users, Johnson and Johnson and Microsoft, to phase out its use.

December 8, 2004
Campaign blasts certain plastics as threat
Environmental alliance calls polyvinyl chloride a menace; industry denies it
By Bob Downing, Beacon Journal
A coalition of environmental groups kicked off a new campaign Tuesday that calls polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics an environmental threat -- a charge disputed by the vinyl industry. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice in Falls Church, Va., released a 100-page report that says there's no safe way to dispose of PVC. It called for phasing out its use and switching to safer alternatives.

December 8, 2004
Report: Beware of 'poison plastic '
By David Liscio, The Daily Item
BOSTON - An environmental health advocacy group Tuesday released a national report on the hazards posed by incinerators that burn PVC, the plasticmaterial commonly used in plumbing pipes and packaging.

December 8, 2004
Groups to seek voluntary halt to companies’ PVC use
Foster's Online
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A report released Tuesday says Maine incinerates too much plastic PVC waste, presenting health and environmental risks. The report released by the Environmental Health Strategy Center estimates that a larger percentage of PVC waste is burned in Maine than in any other state. The group joined another advocacy group in a new campaign to persuade major PVC users to phase out its use and get consumers to stop buying products that use PVC.

December 8, 2004
Report: Disposal of vinyl unsafe
70 billion pounds of PVC plastic nearing end of life expectancy
By Joan Lowy, Scripps Howard News Service
The United States faces a looming waste crisis, with an estimated 70 billion pounds of vinyl plastic facing the end of its useful life and no safe means for disposal available, according to a report released Tuesday by public health advocates. Over the last 40 years, about 300 billion pounds of polyvinyl chloride - also known as PVC plastic or simply vinyl - have been installed in construction and other long-lasting uses, more than a third of it in the United States, according to the report.

December 8, 2004
Report warns of PVC waste crisis looming
Waste News
The United States is facing a waste crisis as some 70 billion pounds of polyvinyl chloride plastic will enter the waste stream in the next decade, according to report released Dec. 7. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice has concluded that PVC disposal rates will increase sharply because an estimated 125 billion pounds of PVC that has been installed in the last 40 years in construction and other projects will reach the end of its life.  From 1996 to 2002, the U.S. used 250 billion pounds of PVC in products ranging from vinyl siding to shampoo bottles, according to the report, which is available at www.besafenet.com. The report warns of increased cancer rates due to dioxin emissions from burning PVC and other public health issues associated with PVC products, including medical devices.

December 8, 2004
Shin-Etsu to build $1bn PVC plant in US
By John Whitehead, Plastic and Rubber Weekly
The project will add 600,000 tonnes of capacity. Japan’s Shin-Etsu group, the world’s largest PVC maker, is to invest $1bn (E750m) in a huge project for PVC and its feedstocks in the US. The project will be located on the Gulf Coast at one of two sites where the firm’s US subsidiary Shintech is already present. Overall, an additional 600,000tpa of PVC capacity will be added to Shintech’s existing 2 million tpa capability for the polymer. Upstream of the PVC capacity, the project calls for 500,000tpa of caustic soda and over 700,000 tpa of VCM. The first phase is scheduled for completion by the end of 2006 with the balance planned for the following year. Up to now, Shintech has focused purely on PVC manufacture. Now it is not only moving into full integration, but considering building an ethylene cracker in the US. In Europe, the company is active through the PVC business it acquired from Shell.

December 8, 2004
Report: PVC piling up, posing major waste crisis
BUFFALO, N.Y. A report released today warns that PVC plastic used in building materials, toys and other items is poised to create a major waste crisis.The report by the Environmental Health Strategy Center and Center for Environmental Justice estimates that 70 (b) billion pounds of polyvinyl chloride will require disposal in the next decade.The groups say that number will grow as (b) billions of pounds of the plastic used in the last 40 years wears out. The environmentalists are lobbying major manufacturers to switch to non-PVC materials for products and packaging. The groups say the chlorine- and lead-containing plastic causes health and environmental risks during production and when it's incinerated. Samsung and Firestone have announced plans to phase out the use of PVC in 2005.

December 8, 2004
Report warns of a looming waste crisis
Birmingham Post Herald
The United States faces a looming waste crisis, with an estimated 70 billion pounds of vinyl plastic facing the end of its useful life and no safe means for disposal available, according to a report released Tuesday by public health advocates.

December 8, 2004
Group asks area firm to end PVC use
By John F. Bonfatti, Buffalo News Staff Reporter
New York burns the second highest amount of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste in the country, according to a report that calls the material "the poison plastic." The report, released Tuesday by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice and the Environmental Health Strategy Center, notes that more than 37,000 pounds of PVC is incinerated annually in New York.

December 8, 2004
Study: Area burns 'poisonous plastic'
By Tim Wacker, Lawrence Eagle Tribune
The Merrimack Valley is one of the nation's biggest burners of a "poisonous plastic" called polyvinyl chloride, according to a study released yesterday by a pair of environmental groups seeking to end the practice nationwide.

December 8, 2004
Enviro and public health groups launch campaign against PVC
Greenwire
Toxic-infused polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics -- used in pipes, siding and packaging -- should be phased out because there is no environmentally safe way to dispose of them, according to a report released yesterday by a coalition of environment and public health groups in West Virginia and Ohio.

December 8, 2004
Campaign blasts certain plastics as threat
Environmental alliance calls polyvinyl chloride a menace; industry denies it
By Bob Downing, Beacon Journal
Arkron,OH- A coalition of environmental groups kicked off a new campaign Tuesday that calls polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics an environmental threat -- a charge disputed by the vinyl industry.

December 8, 2004
Groups to seek voluntary halt to companies’ PVC use
Foster's Daily Democrat, NH
A report released Tuesday says Maine incinerates too much plastic PVC waste, presenting health and environmental risks.The report released by the Environmental Health Strategy Center estimates that a larger percentage of PVC waste is burned in Maine than in any other state. The group joined another advocacy group in a new campaign to persuade major PVC users to phase out its use and get consumers to stop buying products that use PVC.

December 8, 2004
Mass. listed among major burners of PVC
By Jon Chesto, The Patriot Ledger
ROCHESTER - Massachusetts ranks third in the amount of PVC plastic that's burned up in incinerators, according to a report by environmental activists. The state received the high ranking, behind Florida and New York, because more trash, in general, is incinerated here -- as opposed to being shipped to landfills -- than in other states.

December 9, 2004
Limiting burning of PVC is urged local incinerator is among targets
By Steven Rosenberg, Boston Globe
A national report issued this week identified Massachusetts as the third-largest incinerator of polyvinyl chloride waste in the United States. Of the state's seven incinerators, two of the top three are in Saugus and Haverhill, and burn more than 30 percent of the state's waste. The report, issued by the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow -- a Boston-based nonprofit environmental organization -- was written by two nonprofit groups: the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, based in Virginia, and the Environmental Health Strategy Center, based in Maine.

December 8, 2004
Report: Disposal of vinyl unsafe
70 billion pounds of PVC plastic nearing end of life expectancy
KnoxsNews, TN
The United States faces a looming waste crisis, with an estimated 70 billion pounds of vinyl plastic facing the end of its useful life and no safe means for disposal available, according to a report released Tuesday by public health advocates.

December 9, 2004
Maine faulted for PVC incineration
Bangor Daily News
Polyvinyl chlorides surround daily life. From shower curtains, pipes, toys and house siding to that frustrating bubble packaging that encases products, and the credit cards that most people use to buy them, PVC is ubiquitous. In 2001, Americans threw away more than 1.4 million tons of the stuff. But this plastic culture needs to change or America could face a "waste management crisis," according to a study released Tuesday by a coalition of environmental groups.

December 9, 2004
The Vinyl Countdown
Anti-PVC campaign gets rolling
Grist Magazine
A coalition of environmental and public-health groups this week kicked off a new campaign to discourage the purchase of products containing polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, which they argue is harmful to health and the environment. A report compiled by two of the groups concluded there is no safe way to dispose of PVC, a material often used in disposable packaging. Called "poison plastics" by the advocacy groups, PVC forms cancer-causing dioxins when incinerated and leaches harmful chemicals into groundwater when put in a landfill, but is not practical for recycling. Often clear and marked with a 3 or V, polyvinyl chloride is found in items ranging from shampoo bottles and Saran Wrap to construction materials; it's also responsible for the new car smell. The vinyl industry -- surprise, surprise -- denied all the charges, calling them "bogus."

December 10, 2004
New York pipe-ban bill up for renewal
By Angie DeRosa, PLASTICS NEWS
ALBANY, NY. -- A coalition of building associations, plastics industry trade groups and pipe manufacturers is playing beat-the-clock as New York Gov. George Pataki holds veto power on a bill that would place further restrictions on the use of plastic pipe in commercial development. A three-year ban, signed by Pataki in 2001, is scheduled to expire Dec. 31. Under that legislation, the use of plastic pipe was not permitted in residential buildings larger than six stories and commercial construction. A new bill awaiting Pataki´s approval would extend the ban through 2007, and also ban the use of the product in residential buildings larger than two stories.

December 12, 2004
Yushchenko poison identified
By Matthew Schofield, Inquirer Foreign Staff
BERLIN - The mystery illness that has left Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko's formerly handsome face scarred and pitted is the result of dioxin poisoning, his Austrian doctors said yesterday. Dioxin is a highly toxic by-product of chemical processes involving chlorine and is generally discussed as an environmental hazard. Sources of dioxin in the environment include paper and pulp mills, hazardous waste incineration, and the manufacturing of PVC plastics and some pesticides.

December 13, 2004
Environmental group warns of health risks, hazards posed by PVC plastic
Pittstown, PA
NEPA CREED, a Pittston Township environmental group, has released a report by two other groups that warns of health and environmental hazards posed by PVC plastic.

December 13, 2004
Use of PVC pipes in construction draws debates
By Jennifer Jones, The Gazette
Is it, or is it not, safe? Pipes made of polyvinyl chloride or PVC are in the middle of a debate between business advocates and environmental advocates, as legislation banning the use of the pipe in commercial development is on Gov. George E. Pataki's desk awaiting his signature. According to a study released last week by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, as much as 7 billion pounds of PVC are discarded every year. Harmful chemicals such lead, cadmium, chlorine, and phthalates could be leached into the groundwater, or if burned, hydrochloric acid is released.

December 14, 2004
Business groups, union lobbying in Albany over use of plastic pipe
By Tom Precious, News Albany Bureau
ALBANY - The issue of whether plastic piping should be allowed in new commercial and large residential buildings in New York state has received little notice from the public. But behind the scenes at the Capitol, a furious lobbying war is under way. Business groups are going up against a single union over a measure that, depending on which side is talking, will do everything from shape the state's real estate development future to cause more people to die.

December 15, 2004
Ukraine Dioxin Poisoning A Reminder of U.S. Delay
BushGreenwatch
News that Ukranian presidential candidate Victor Yushchenko was apparently poisoned by a tiny dose of dioxin serves as a timely reminder that this ubiquitous substance is still in wide circulation and still poses a serious public health threat.

December 16, 2004
Massachusetts ranks third in nation on PVC products incinerated
Saugus Advertizer
The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow released a national report today documenting the health and environmental hazards posed by PVC (the "poison plastic") during manufacturing, product use and disposal.    Massachusetts incinerates a higher percentage of PVC waste than all but two states in the nation, topping 28,145 tons every year according to estimates in the report.

December 17, 2004
Pataki vetoes bill that would have banned use of plastic pipe
Builders can save money on plumbing
By Tom Precious, News Albany Bureau
ALBANY - Gov. George Pataki vetoed legislation, which had passed overwhelmingly in the Legislature, that would have banned the use of plastic plumbing pipes in commercial and larger residential construction. As a result, builders will be able to use the less expensive plastic in commercial buildings.

December 15, 2004

Yushchenko's dioxin poison level more than 6,000 times higher than normal
By Emma Ross, San Diego Union-Tribune
LONDON – New tests reveal Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko's blood contains the second-highest level of dioxin poisoning ever recorded in a human – more than 6,000 times the normal concentration, according to the expert analyzing the samples.

December 19, 2004
Recent study warns of toxins
By Jennifer Mitchell, The News-Herald
Canadian trash imports may be a treasure to local landfill owners, but it and trash generated here in Michigan likely contain a source of dangerous toxins, according to a recently released study. Polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as PVC, is in everything from blood bags to barrier sheets.

December 21, 2004
War on Plastic - Rejecting the toxic plague
Jan Lundberg , Northern Californians Against Plastic
Plastic as toxic trash is barely an issue with health advocates, environmentalists, and even those of us looking toward the post-petroleum world. Instead, "recycling" and future "bioplastics" distract people from keeping plastic out of their lives. As the evidence from our trashed oceans and damage to human health mounts, plastic can no longer be conveniently ignored. The days of naive trust and denial need to be put behind us, and a war on plastics declared now.

December 23, 2004
Residents seek protection from toxic gifts
Saugus Briefs
BOSTON - As last-minute shoppers crowded into malls and stores on Monday, a coalition of health, environmental and scientific groups called on Gov. Mitt Romney to mandate safer ingredients in consumer products.    The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, a coalition of more than 140 groups, held a press conference Monday to draw attention to toxic chemicals in popular holiday presents including children's toys made from PVC (vinyl) plastic, holiday fragrance gift sets and cosmetics. Some of these popular gifts can contain toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium, phthalates, formaldehyde and others that are linked to cancer, birth defects, liver and kidney damage, reproductive abnormalities and learning disabilities.

January 6, 2005
OxyChem closing strictly economic
Evan Brandt, The Mercury
LOWER POTTSGROVE -- As news of the sudden closure of the Occidental Chemical plant ripped through the wider community Tuesday, it didn’t take long for one question to surface: What role, if any, did the constant clashes the plant faced with the Alliance for a Clean Environment and, ultimately, the Environmental Protection Agency play in the decision to close the plant?

March 17, 2005
So durable, it's hard to get rid of
By Mark Clayton | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
In the past four years, a cadre of companies - from Mattel (toys) to Nike (shoes and sporting equipment) to General Motors (auto interior panels) - have moved to phase out PVC. Since December, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson said they were giving it up.

May 27, 2005
Common chemical may cause defects in baby boys
Elizabeth Weise, USA Today
For the first time, scientists have shown that pregnant mothers exposed to high but common levels of a widely used ingredient in cosmetics, fragrances, plastics and paints can have baby boys with smaller genitals and incomplete testicular descent. The paper, published Friday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found that the more a mother was exposed to the chemicals, called phthalates (THAL-ates), the greater the chance her boy's reproductive development would be harmed. Similar changes have led to decreased semen quality and fertility in rodents.  

June 13, 2005
Steelcase Announces Decision to go PVC-Free
Steelcase
Steelcase’s goal to eliminate Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) from edge banding is another direct result from its ongoing collaboration with MBDC.  Steelcase committed to a PVC exit strategy and is working with its suppliers to find viable substitutes.  Eliminating PVC from edge banding, a critical component to the worksurfaces of most systems products, is the first step of the company’s journey to be PVC-free by its 100th anniversary in 2012.  Steelcase has also made a commitment to eliminate PVC from all future products.

July 6, 2005
Six Chemicals in Soft Plastic Toys Banned Across Europe
ENS
BRUSSELS, Belgium, - The European Parliament voted Tuesday to impose a permanent ban on six chemicals used in plastic toys and childcare articles to soften the plastics. Young children can ingest the toxic chemicals when they suck or chew on the soft plastic items.Known as phthalates, since 1999 the six chemicals have been temporarily banned across the EU in the manufacture of toys and other items intended for children under the age of three because of their carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic effects.

July 22, 2005
Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans' Bodies
Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times
In the largest study of chemical exposure ever conducted on human beings, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday that most American children and adults were carrying in their bodies dozens of pesticides and toxic compounds used in consumer products, many of them linked to potential health threats.   Eleven of 12 phthalates tested were higher in children than adults. All of the phthalates but one are used in fragrances. In animal tests, and in one recent study of human babies, some of the compounds have been shown to alter male reproductive organs or to feminize hormones.

August 3, 2005
Vinyl siding backers lobby county officials
Bryan Brooks, Gwinnett Daily Post
How many homes are built in Gwinnett County?   Enough that when local officials frown on a particular building material, that industry will fly someone down from Washington, D.C., to sing the praises of their product. On Monday, the Vinyl Siding Institute did just that. It took at least two county planning commissioners on a tour of vinyl-clad homes in the Lawrenceville area. The visit and phone calls to county officials were prompted by proposed development rules that would prohibit vinyl siding in conservation subdivisions, but for years, planning commissioners and county commissioners have often nixed vinyl siding during rezonings.

September 8, 2005
Phthalates in human breast milk affect reproductive hormones in baby boys
Sue Mueller, Foodconsumer.org
Phthalates, widely used in cosmetics and soft vinyl toys, has been known to affect reproductive system in animals. A new study published in the September 7 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives found that phthalates in human breast milk affect reproductive hormones in baby boys.   The study, conducted by Katharina M. Main and colleagues from Denmark and Finland, involved 130 infants with 62 cryptorchid and 68 healthy boys, who participated in a prospective Danish-Finnish cohort study on cryptorchidism during 1997 to 2001.

September 12, 2005
An unsavory addition to kids' lunchboxes: lead
Shari Roan, LA Times
Along with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and juice boxes, some schoolchildren may be carrying something unexpected — and potentially hazardous — in their lunchboxes this fall.   A study by an Oakland-based environmental group found harmful levels of lead in some lunchboxes made of soft vinyl. The Center for Environmental Health filed lawsuits late last month against several lunchbox manufacturers and various retailers who sell the products.

September 26, 2005
New-car smell is going away: It's no good for you
Hans Greimel, Associated Press
Anyone who's pulled away from the dealer's lot in a shiny, new car knows the seductive scent of fresh plastic, paint and upholstery that evokes a rush of pride and consumer satisfaction.  But that unmistakable new-car smell may soon be heading the way of the rumble seat: Recent research linking it to a toxic cocktail of harmful chemicals is spurring efforts by Japanese automakers to tone down the fumes.  Japanese manufacturers have become the first to set an industrywide goal of reducing cabin concentrations to within government guidelines. The push could spur similar action by U.S. and European rivals, making interior air quality an emerging auto safety issue.

September 29, 2005
New PVC-free product line meets stringent air quality standards
C/S Press Release
Construction Specialties, Inc. the inventor of Acrovyn^® 3000, PVC-free interior wall protection, is pleased to announce that Acrovyn 3000 has met California’s stringent 01350 criteria for indoor air quality.   C/S developed the Acrovyn 3000 line of corner guards, handrails, crash rails, and wall coverings in 2004 to proactively meet the needs of an expanding sustainable building movement.  Acrovyn 3000 is comprised of a patented PVC-free thermoplastic formulation that contains no brominated or halogenated fire retardants, no phthalates, and no dioxin or furan formers. 

If you have a current news article about the hazardous lifecycle of PVC you'd like us to consider posting, please e-mail it to us at mike@chej.org