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Polyvinyl chloride in consumer and environmental plastics, with a particular focus on metal-based additives
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Researchers compared PVC distribution among consumer plastics in everyday use versus plastics found in marine, lake, and agricultural environments, analyzing metal-based additives in each. The study found that about 75% of both consumer and environmental PVC contained metal additives including barium and lead, and that PVC was underrepresented in environmental samples likely because it sinks in water and has long service lives in construction.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most widely used thermoplastics but is also a material of concern because of the generation and release of harmful chemicals during its life cycle. Amongst the chemicals added to PVC are metal-based stabilisers and Sb-based halogenated flame retardant synergists. However, very little quantitative information exists on these additives, and in particular in PVC lost to the environment. In this study, the distribution of PVC amongst consumer plastics in societal circulation and plastics retrieved from marine and lacustrine beaches and agricultural soils are compared, along with the presence and concentrations of Ba, Cd, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn as proxies for common metal-based additives and determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. About 10% of consumer plastics and 2% of environmental plastics were constructed of PVC, with the discrepancy attributed to the long service lives and managed disposal of PVC used in the construction sector and the propensity of the plastic to sink in aquatic systems and evade detection. Metal-based additives, defined as having a metal concentration >1000 mg kg-1, were present in about 75% of consumer and environmental PVC, with Ba and Pb most abundant and Cd and Zn least abundant in both types of sample, and median concentrations statistically different only for Ba. Metals also appeared to be present as contaminants (defined as concentrations <1000 mg kg-1) arising from manufacturing or recycling. Metals in PVC are believed to pose little risk when the material is in use, but experimental evidence in the literature suggests that significant mobilisation and exposure may occur from PVC microplastics when ingested by wildlife.
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This review summarized the environmental risks posed by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics, including the release of toxic additives and microplastic formation during degradation, and assessed current methods for its elimination from the environment.
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This paper examines PVC (polyvinyl chloride), one of the most commonly used plastics in Europe, and highlights that it fragments into microplastics more easily than other plastics and requires large amounts of potentially toxic chemical additives. The European Commission has recognized PVC's wide-ranging health and environmental problems, and the authors argue that human exposure to PVC microplastics and their chemical additives remains a serious unresolved public health concern.
Risks Associated with the Presence of Polyvinyl Chloride in the Environment and Methods for Its Disposal and Utilization
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This review examines the environmental and health risks of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), one of the most common plastics. As PVC breaks down into microplastics, it contaminates soil, water, and even drinking water, entering the food chain and exposing humans to harmful effects. The paper surveys methods being developed to clean up and remove PVC microplastics from the environment.
Metals and marine microplastics: Adsorption from the environment versus addition during manufacture, exemplified with lead
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Researchers examined how lead associates with marine microplastics, comparing metal adsorbed from the environment versus lead added during manufacturing. The study found that lead present as a manufacturing additive in plastics reached concentrations up to 40,000 micrograms per gram, far exceeding the roughly 0.1 micrograms per gram from environmental adsorption. The findings suggest that ingestion exposure to lead from historical plastic additives and recyclate residues poses a greater concern than metals adsorbed from seawater.
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