Vinyl Chloride

February 7, 2010 by Annon. · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Personal Injury Attorneys

Vinyl chloride is a substance that has been used in the production of many common items in our environment for many years. The government and public have only recently become aware of the health issues that vinyl chloride presents. Vinyl chloride has been described as one of the most hazardous products ever created in terms of human health. The U.S. Vinyl chloride has been determined by the Department of Health and Human Services to be a known carcinogen

Vinyl chloride is an organic compound and widely used industrial chemical. At room temperature it is a colorless sweet smelling gas used in the manufacture of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other resins, as a chemical intermediate and as an industrial solvent.It easily burns and is unstable at high temperatures. It is a manufactured substance that is not naturally occuring though it can be formed from the breaking down of such substances as trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene.

Various industries that utilze vinyl chloride in the manufacturing process include:

building and construction
automotive industry
industrial and household equipment
medical supplies
rubber, paper, and glass industries

Polyvinyl Chloride( PVC) is used to make a variety of plastic products, including pipes, wire and cable coatings, and packaging materials. Vinyl chloride was used in the 1950s and 1960s as an ingredient in spray paints and hair sprays. Until 1974, vinyl chloride was used in aerosol spray propellants.

Vinyl chloride has been found in the air near vinyl chloride manufacturing and processing plants, hazardous waste sites, and landfills. Levels as high as 44 ppm were found in the air at some landfills. In 1999 in Mosville, Louisiana, the US, Environmental Agency found vinyl chloride in the air at 100 times what is permitted by law. This town has near it a large vinyl products manufacturer.

Hairdressers were exposed to very significant concentrations of vinyl chloride when it was a component of hair spray. Workers in the companies that manufactured these aerosol sprays were exposed to even greater concentrations of vinyl chloride. Workers who make vinyl chloride or PVC piping have been subjected to the vapors of vinyl chloride.

Studies in workers who have breathed vinyl chloride over many years showed an increased risk of liver, brain and lung cancer. Some cancers of the blood have also been observed in workers. People are at higher risk of developing these changes when they are exposed to high levels of vinyl chloride in the air they breathe.

Vinyl chloride is a vascular toxin, and can cause the vascular liver cancer called angiosarcoma (a rapidly growing tumor). People who have breathed vinyl chloride for several years have changes in the structure of their livers. When portions which the liver they are changed into several other substances.Many of these substances travel through the blood stream; arrive in the kidneys and then leave the body through the urine.New substances, however, are made inthe liver and they do not leave the body as quickly. A few of these new substances are more harmful than vinyl chloride because they react with chemicals inside your body and interfere with the way your body normally uses or responds to these chemicals.

Some workers exposed to very high levels of vinyl chloride have problems with the blood flow in their hands, causing a deterioration of bone resulting in a condition called acroosteolysis, the dissolution of bone. This condition begins with a numbing of the fingertips followed by recurrent ulcers. This leads to disfigurement as a result of bone loss.

The burning and production of PVC is causing concerns related to the amount of dioxins that are being releases. Elevated levels of dioxins in blood samples of people living nears PVC manufacturing sites is have been recorded. Dioxins can cause cancer and lead to problems in immune and reproductive systems.

Work exposure occurs primarily from breathing air that contains vinyl chloride, but workers also are exposed when vinyl chloride contacts the skin or eyes. Some people who work with vinyl chloride have nerve damage and develop immune reactions. The lowest levels that produce liver changes, nerve damage, and immune reaction in people are not known.