Statement of the Chlorine Chemistry Council and the Vinyl Institute Regarding Plasticizer Additives in Vinyl Products

November 13, 1998

The Chlorine Chemistry Council and the Vinyl Institute are proud of their commitment to product stewardship as Responsible Care® partners. As such, we support responsible stewardship of chlorine-based products, including product performance standards. Standards can be developed by government product safety agencies, independent third parties, or through voluntary consensus bodies, when such measures provide the best vehicles to achieve the goals of Responsible Care®.

Vinyl, a major product of chlorine chemistry accounting for more than 45% of chlorine’s commercial consumption, is one of the core materials vital to our modern standard of living. Vinyl serves society from basic construction to high-tech computer applications, from short-term hygienic medical uses to municipal pipes whose durability can exceed 100 years. Vinyl is versatile.

The majority of vinyl is used in its rigid form in long-term, durable applications, such as siding and pipes. However, a smaller but significant portion is used in a flexible form to make a range of products including wire and cable coatings, automotive dashboards and some toys. Vinyl can be combined with a wide range of other materials, such as plasticizers, colorants and other substances to achieve the widely versatile range of end products. Not all vinyl products use the same combination of materials, and with this fundamental understanding, care must be used in characterizing the make-up of vinyl products.

Flexibility in vinyl products is achieved through the addition of a softening agent known as a "plasticizer." A number of different products are used as plasticizers, including categories of chemicals known as phthalates (or phthalate esters), citrates, adipates and others.

Recently, questions have been raised regarding the potential of one phthalate additive, DINP¹, to migrate out of vinyl toys and the risk of potential health effects resulting from this exposure. The chlor-vinyl industry believes that the weight of scientific evidence continues to support the safe use of DINP²,³. Accordingly, CCC and VI support the immediate development of a product performance standard for toys, in order to provide additional peace of mind for parents, as well as to validate the safety of these materials. This product performance standard for toys should address DINP and alternative plasticizers. If a strong scientific consensus determines that the required product performance standard cannot be met, then that product should not be sold.

Furthermore, our commitment to product stewardship extends to other applications of chlorine chemistry as well. This includes the development and application of performance standards in other chlorine-based products where legitimate questions regarding potential impacts on public health or the environment may arise.

¹ Diisononyl phthalate
² Weinberg Group Inc., Ed., Phthalates Expert Report, Washington, D.C., July 1998
³ Könemann, W.H., Ed., Phthalate Release from Soft PVC baby toys, Report from the Dutch Consensus Group, RIVM Report 613320 002, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. September 1998