PVC: More than meets the eye
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is a major plastics material which finds widespread use in building, transport, packaging, electrical/electronic and healthcare applications. It has been in commercial production since 1933 and currently accounts for about 20% of all plastic manufactured world-wide: the third-highest consumption level after the polyolefins (PEs, PP). Being very durable it can be used in a variety of applications, either rigid or flexible, white or black and a wide range of colours in between.
Years ago, a safety issue in the manufacture of PVC was the exposure of plant operators to vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) in the working atmosphere. However, these problems were already identified by the industry in the 1970s, and immediate measures were taken which reduced the occupational exposure thousand fold.
Substantial research and over 50 years of experience support the fact that PVC can be safely used even in the most sensitive applications (such as medical devices). Chlorine, one of the most common natural elements, is used in PVC production. It is also used in life-saving medicines and essential water treatment. In fact, life could not exist without it. There are no heavy metal-based stabilisers and phthalic plasticisers in the formula of rigid film for food packaging and, wherever possible, additives are replaced or phased out completely.
From an environmental point of view it is interesting to note that PVC production uses less fossil fuels than all other commodity plastics and has the lowest primary energy of all commodity plastics, resulting in a relatively low carbon footprint.
