REPORT: The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes
April 2023 | Beyond Plastics
The discovery of unsafe levels of lead in drinking water in communities across the country is so pervasive that in November 2021, Congress made $15 billion available to states and municipalities to replace lead service lines (the pipes that deliver water to our homes, schools, and businesses).
Although the decision to replace those lead lines is very positive, it’s equally important to ensure that the replacement piping material will not simply create a new set of adverse health and environmental impacts. The data on the safety of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic piping raises serious concerns about replacing metal pipes with PVC plastic pipes. The risk of leaching chemicals that are harmful to human health is real. There is evidence that this may occur, and the testing necessary to prove otherwise is either inadequate or nonexistent.
Communities that opt to replace their lead service lines with PVC plastic pipes may well be leaping from the frying pan into the fire. Although we strongly support the replacement of lead service lines, we need to know that the replacement piping material is safe.
In the absence of guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to state and local governments on the safety of various replacement piping materials, Beyond Plastics commissioned the well-respected science writer Meg Wilcox to look at the published literature and examine this issue. What Wilcox found is eye-opening and raises concerns that should be considered by the state and local officials who are deciding what type of pipes will be used in their communities. The residents who drink and bathe in these public water supplies should also be aware of the dangers posed by PVC service pipes.
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NEWS COVERAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS | 2/26/24 | America is replacing its pipes: Is ductile iron pipe a good alternative for plastic?
USA TODAY | 4/18/23 | New report warns about human health risks from PVC pipes used in drinking water systems
GREENWIRE | 4/18/23 | Replacing lead pipes with PVC poses new risks, report says
THE NEW LEDE | 4/18/23 | Beyond East Palestine, report finds widespread toxic vinyl chloride pollution
GRIST | 4/19/23 | As states replace lead pipes, plastic alternatives could bring new risks
NORTHJERSEY.COM | 4/21/23 | Report says PVC water pipes may cause health risks. What's being used in North Jersey?
GEO.TV | 4/21/23 | PVC pipes risk human health: report
NEW YORK TIMES | 5/4/23 | PVC pipes pose health risk
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH NEWS | 6/5/23 | US lead pipe replacements stoke concerns about plastic and environmental injustice
TAKE ACTION
We need your help to urge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban vinyl chloride, the human carcinogen that’s used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. Vinyl chloride is manufactured in low-income communities and communities of color in Louisiana, Texas, and Kentucky, where it threatens the health of local residents. The PVC plastic made from vinyl chloride is used to make everything from the iconic rubber ducky and other children's toys to pipes, floor coverings, shower curtains, raincoats, and vinyl siding. Fortunately, there are safer alternatives to PVC.
On December 14, 2023, the U.S. EPA announced that it would include vinyl chloride—a known human carcinogen that's been sickening workers and residents for almost 50 years—in its priority list of chemicals for risk assessment. This is a critical first step towards banning vinyl chloride under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act and your members of Congress must let EPA know they support this move and urge them to act as quickly as possible to prevent more harm from being done by vinyl chloride. As we've seen in East Palestine, Ohio where five tanker cars' full of vinyl chloride were intentionally spilled and mass burned following the Norfolk Southern train derailment last winter, no community is safe from vinyl chloride's negative health impacts. The only true solution is to ban it!
Please join us in urging Congress to support the U.S. EPA’s December 2023 decision to assess the safety of vinyl chloride and push for an outright ban. Fill out the fields below to or👉click here to email your members of Congress about this directly.
I'm writing to ask for your help in preventing future harm to Americans like me and my family. Vinyl chloride is a highly toxic chemical that is used primarily to make polyvinyl chloride plastic—also known as vinyl or PVC plastic.
Vinyl chloride was designated a human carcinogen 49 years ago after sickening workers in vinyl chloride manufacturing plants. Vinyl chloride is also the chemical that was open burned in East Palestine, Ohio in February 2023, after the Norfolk Southern train derailment disaster, leaving community members in Ohio and Pennsylvania with ongoing health concerns and illnesses.
The U.S. EPA is finally beginning the process of banning vinyl chloride under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), starting with its announcement on December 14, 2023, that it will be including vinyl chloride in its list of priority review chemicals for risk assessment.
The EPA should be applauded for this decision. However, the EPA will face strong opposition from the chemical industry for its choice. We need the EPA to stand firm.
I'm writing to ask you to please stand with the EPA and with all Americans to protect our health and our environment from the dangers of vinyl chloride by writing to the EPA to thank them and urge them to ban vinyl chloride.
The EPA has the existing authority to do this under the Toxic Substances Control Act, known as TSCA. We do not want the EPA to place more ineffective limits on vinyl chloride. The EPA need to ban vinyl chloride completely.
Thank you.