International organizations are urging the European Commission (EC) to extend the current ban on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) beyond food packaging, and include medical applications. This initiative, led by the environmental law organization Client Earth, aims to address the health risks associated with PVC in a wider range of packaging applications.
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ECHA Report Highlights PVC Health Risks
A report by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), published in November of 2023, confirmed several health risks posed by PVC. These include endocrine disruption, reproductive impairment, cancer, neurotoxicity, immune system suppression, and respiratory irritation. Despite these findings, current guidelines do not cover medical applications, which account for 27 % of PVC use.
Call for a Comprehensive PVC Ban and Medical Applications
The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), which contributed to a new report by Client Earth, is advocating for a ban on PVC in all non-essential applications, including packaging.
Client Earth stresses the importance of including medical applications in the PVC ban. They urge the EU to assess these applications under a realistic worst-case scenario, considering a 24-hour exposure benchmark and the maximum amount of used chemicals. Client Earth’s analysis of the ECHA report concludes that the EC should adopt restrictions on PVC, in addition to regulating its most dangerous additives.
Identifying the “Critical Gap”
Additionally, the ECHA report identified risks associated with consumer use of PVC materials but did not include medical applications in its assessment. Client Earth mentioned the example of medical tubing used in neonatal units, which can lead to high exposures to harmful additives like phthalates. The exclusion of medical devices from the risk assessment is deemed a “critical gap”, given the prolonged and intimate nature of exposure in these applications.
Alternatives and Innovation
The ECHA report also indicated that alternatives to PVC should be available. Christine Hermann, EEB’s policy officer for chemicals, noted that if certain packaging requirements cannot be met by materials other than PVC, a time-limited derogation may be considered, that would provide a timeline for transitioning away from PVC.
Moving Forward with a Comprehensive Approach
Client Earth concludes that EU should follow through on its Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability by implementing a group of restrictions on the most harmful chemicals. Banning only a few additives, however, would not sufficiently address the broader issue of PVC’s environmental and health impacts.
