CHEJ Highlights Health Hazards of Using PVC Shower Curtains

Move over tainted toys and unhealthy food products; it is now the turn of the good old shower curtain, of the polyvinyl chloride variety, to bask in the infamous spotlight that beams down on toxic products.

The results of a survey conducted by the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice, an advocacy group based out of Virginia, show that shower curtains of polyvinyl chloride have the ability to emit, along with a large number of toxic organic compounds, other dangerous chemicals like lead, phthalates, thus converting your bathroom into a toxin-laden minefield.

CHEJ released the results of its study primarily to bolster its current campaign against the use of PVC. The results are not ground-breaking on their own, considering researchers from the Environmental Protection Agency had also arrived at the same conclusion at the end of a study they had earlier conducted. What the CHEJ survey’s results highlights is the fact that nothing much has happened since the EPA study to alter the situation.

In its campaign against PVC, CHEJ has been calling on manufacturers as well as retailers to slowly ensure they do not use the compound in the shower curtains. However, scientists are split into two groups about the seriousness of the health implications arising out of the use of certain chemicals deemed ‘dangerous’, including PVC.

CHEJ, on its part, is not giving up on its campaign and are currently appealing to users not to buy shower curtains and many of the other products that use PVC. The group is laying emphasis particularly on avoiding the use of flexible products that use PVC.

For the consumer, avoiding the use of PVC shower curtains is certainly not the end of the road, as there are a number of alternative solutions available. There are some organizations that have already been using alternative materials for their shower curtains.

Among the organizations that are using alternative materials is IKEA, who has been using ethylene vinyl acetate or EVA for more than a decade, 11 years to be precise. One of the biggest retailers in the US, Target has also pledged to use EVA instead of PVC, issuing a statement to the effect that 88 percent of its shower curtains would be PVC-free by 2008 spring.

There are a number of other organizations moving away from PVC curtains, including Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, and also JC Penney. However, the report says these companies have not set a fixed timeline for ensuring all their shower curtains are PVC-free.

As of now, there are no hard and fast rules enforced on a company to label a product that contains PVC. However, some of them do display the word ‘vinyl’ or PVC on their packaging. Some companies use the number ‘3’ to denote the presence of PVC in their products.

CHEJ has the product list of all the products containing PVC. Phthalates and bisphenol are two other chemicals that have been said to create the same kinds of problems that come with the use of PVC.