We are often asked which are the best frames, aluminum frames or PVC frames. How ecological are PVC frames? How safe are they for frame construction? Before reading Mr. Tsipiras’ article, also learn about the opinion of Greenpeace Greece https://greenpeacegreece.org/reports/Odigos%20Prasinis%20Katanalosis.pdf as well as the opinion of the same organization in America https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/toxics/pvc-free/
PVC: A dangerous cohabitant for our health
Source: K. Tsipiras, Architect, “Ecological Architecture”
Bottles of mineral water, boxes and wrapping films, credit cards, discs, or toys, constructions for window frames, doors, walls, surfaces, pipes and gutters, floors, wallpapers, shutters and shower curtains: PVC is widely used. As early as 1913, PVC was the first widely circulated synthetic product. In the 1930s, large quantities of chlorine were made available to Nazi Germany, as part of a program to make Germany independent of cotton imports in case of war. The program focused on the production of rayon (textile fibers), and for this purpose, larger quantities of caustic soda were required from the chlorine-alkali industry. After many years of experiments with stabilizers, lubricants, and plasticizers, it was found that fibers could be made from PVC. Thus, what was previously a toxic, useless byproduct of the industrial production of caustic soda, now became a marketable commodity. Within a few years, PVC had become the most important, mass-produced, synthetic material in Germany, with the exception of polyethylene.
a) But is this plastic so harmful? The answer is that the supposedly harmless piece of PVC pipe is a product of a particularly dangerous materials industry, as it is linked to chlorine like no other material. After 40 years (in 1990), the German Council of Experts for Environmental Issues explained: “Chemists and engineers in industry and universities are increasingly accepting that the dynamic development of chlorinated compounds in the 1950s and 1960s constituted a crucial mistake in the industrial development of the 20th century, which would not have happened if there had been knowledge of the environmental problems and human health risks caused by chlorine.”
PVC in its normal state is hard and brittle, and the use of plasticizers is necessary (read about the case of PVC combustion). In Austria, DEHP (an additive in the plasticizer composition) is prohibited in similar packaging. In Switzerland, the use of the product for manufacturing toys for children under 3 years old was banned in 1986. In Germany, its use in dental rings is no longer “recommended,” while in the Netherlands, where its ecotoxic action is more widely recognized, it is considered one of the most dangerous substances for the environment. DEHP is fat-soluble and is absorbed by fatty products with which it comes into contact. PVC is thus detected in blood stored in hospitals and, consequently, in the blood of patients who have received transfusions, in patients with hemolysis. These patients suffer from a long list of ailments, including skin and liver irritations, as well as heart disease and circulatory system diseases. Although medical applications of PVC do not account for more than 3% of total PVC production, they constitute an important area for the industry’s public relations, which claims it is essential for hospitals. The unpleasant truth is that PVC is not just a material. To acquire properties that make it usable, it must be enriched with many additional chemical substances . Thousands of different combinations are used for different products. Who, for example, would want a children’s toy containing a cocktail of cadmium “stabilizers,” polybrominated flame retardants, and plasticizers?
Beyond the aforementioned uses of PVC, there are also areas where its use is not widely known, such as, among others, construction work and vehicle manufacturing. Products of this type have a useful life of 10 to 20 years before being discarded. For all these products (long-life), the issue of waste disposal has reached crisis proportions. Although a large part of the debris is buried in separate landfills – where such exist – which is certainly not the case in Greece, waste from repairs and decorations ends up in public landfills, where additives can leach out and leak into the environment.
The international ecological organization Greenpeace collected the most recent data on dichloroethane (EDC) and vinyl chloride (VCM) units, which are intermediate raw materials for the production of PVC plastics. The data concern the period 1988-1993 and come from the chlorine industry itself and the Ministries of Environment of various European countries. In Greece, PVC is produced by EKO in Thessaloniki. In addition to the annual production of 75,000t of PVC, EKO acquired the EDC/VCM units of ETHYL when the latter closed its factory a few years ago. EKO exports 20,000-40,000 t of EDC and imports 70,000 t of VCM annually. EKO has included in its investment program, among other things, the creation of a new VCM production capacity of 100,000t per year. Both existing and planned EDC/VCM units constitute a real “bomb” for Thessaloniki and threaten thousands of its residents with cancers and reproductive problems. Advice: Do not use plastic frames in your buildings! According to Greenpeace, PVC plastic is one of the most serious dangers to humans and the environment. The plasticizer DEHP – one of the most toxic substances used in the manufacture of PVC – can pass into food from wrapping films and plastic containers. Its use in food packaging has already been banned in Austria, and its use in toy manufacturing has been banned in Switzerland.
The extensive use of PVC in modern homes also poses a serious threat to our health: vinyl floors and wallpapers, leatherette clothing, shower curtains, tarpaulins, grilles, electrical equipment, cable insulation, etc. Many of the substances contained in PVC evaporate easily, making humans easily exposed to them. In case of fire, a toxic smoke cloud is created, and dangerous compounds such as dioxins are emitted. In the fire (fire and frames) that broke out in 1977 at a club in Beverly Hills, 161 people died without having come into direct contact with the flames, before the wooden parts began to burn and before carbon dioxide reached dangerous levels. Another four died due to complications, while many survivors suffered severe damage to their respiratory systems. The deaths and injuries were a direct result of the presence of PVC.
