Environmental Advocacy Group Links PVC Pipe to Adverse Health Outcomes

In April 2023, Beyond Plastics, an environmental advocacy group, released a report that linked plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes to adverse human health outcomes. According to the organization, across the United States, plastic PVC piping has been replacing the metal pipes that deliver water to homes, schools, and businesses.

Understanding the broad use of this piping material, Beyond Plastics — in collaboration with Environmental Health Sciences and the Plastic Pollution Coalition — recruited Meg Wilcox, an independent environmental journalist, to research and write about the impacts of PVC piping. Collaborating with other researchers and environmental health experts, Wilcox helped publish a report titled "The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes.”

According to the report, PVC piping can contaminate drinking water by leaching, permeation, or toxic chemical release after heat exposure. PVC piping contains multiple different kinds of endocrine disrupters, which have severe adverse impacts on human health.

Exposure to endocrine disrupters during childhood can cause early puberty, cognitive and behavioral issues, asthma, and obesity. In older individuals, endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure can cause thyroid disorders, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer, low sperm count, and infertility. Those exposed to endocrine disrupters during pregnancy may have children with low birth weight and developmental dysfunctions.

“PVC is a horror show,” said Bruce Blumberg, PhD, professor of development and cell biology at the University of California Irvine, who studies endocrine disruptors, in the report. “We don’t have much science on how much gets out [from PVC pipes] and gets into people, but we know a lot about the effects of the chemicals themselves, and we know a fair bit about their effects in animals. We should be concerned about the possible effects on humans.”

The report reviewed 39 studies that found 163 dangerous chemicals leached from plastic pipes. Almost 60 of those chemicals leached from PVC piping, and 32 leached from chlorinated PVC (CPVC). Over 45% of the 163 dangerous substances were not regulated in drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or any other government organization.

Just months before this report was released, an Ohio train carrying over 115,580 gallons of vinyl chloride derailed, causing an enormous chemical spill. The fires sparked by and set to clear the chemical spill have contributed to multiple health hazards in the surrounding areas.

Wildlife in the surrounding areas was killed, and patients reported irritated eyes, skin, throats, migraines, and more. The data and concerns surrounding this spill point to serious human health risks.

With the insights from this report and the recent derailment, it is clear that PVC and other endocrine-disrupting compounds need to be more regulated across the US. The report urges officials to consider alternatives to PVC pipes, the data on its side effects, costs, and more when deciding to replace metal piping.