Hazardous or Not, Vinyl Shares Lead's Taint

In October, Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.) introduced the Children's Chemical Risk Reduction Act, which would ban phthalates in children's products.

The U.S. chemical industry, which produced 15 billion pounds of vinyl in 2006, defends the safety of PVC. It said use of lead in the U.S. vinyl market has decreased, though that does not address imports from Asia.

The American Chemistry Council, which represents major chemical manufacturers, said in a report this year, "There is no reliable evidence that any phthalate has ever caused any harm to any human in their 50-year history of use."

The industry points to government studies that looked at phthalates and found little risk.

In 1998, the CPSC declared that "few, if any, children are at risk" from a particular phthalate used in teethers and rattles. Still, as a precaution, it asked the industry to find a substitute for products children put in their mouths.

A report commissioned by the agency also found in 2001 that the majority of children were at "minimal to non-existent risk of injury" from phthalates in toys.

In 2005, the CPSC tested vinyl lunchboxes for lead content and found no hazard, though environmental groups had found the products far exceeded the federal standard.

The agency also denied a petition in 2003 filed by environmental groups asking for a ban on PVC in toys and products for children under age 5. Four years later, the CPSC asked an industry standard-setting group to come up with a voluntary rule on children's exposure to lead in PVC.

Target was the latest subject of a grass-roots anti-PVC lobbying campaign, led by the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

Michael Schade, PVC campaign coordinator for the group, said thousands of letters and petitions went to company officials, about 230 news conferences were held and activists attended the company's 2007 shareholders' meeting.

The group also staged an event across from an Albany, Calif., store where a two-story plastic duck was blown up, advertising that Target needed to eliminate "poison plastic." Groups marched through the store, handing out fliers.

Early last month, Target committed to taking PVC out of 88 percent of its own brands by next spring and reducing PVC packaging. "We would have been exploring these alternatives regardless of recent events," said Susan Giesen, a Target spokeswoman.

Apple came into the PVC crosshairs in October when Greenpeace said it found phthalates in the soft plastic that coats headphone wires for the iPhone.

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, said the company started phasing out PVCs 12 years ago and will be PVC-free by the end of next year.

Because of marketing pressure and, in some cases, a desire to be green, a growing number of companies are looking at PVC.

The Center for Health, Environment and Justice said companies such as Wal-Mart, Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J., and Nike of Beaverton, Ore., have found substitutes along with dozens of others.

A Nov. 16 article in Plastics News, an industry trade publication, summed up it up best: "There's no way to spin this -- it's bad news for vinyl."