Today, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used in many different products across the world. According to the APHA (2011), the material can be found in toys, medical supplies, floors, and even food wrapping. (p. 1) I believe that this material has made it possible for a lot of products to be made that have benefited the human population, but I believe there are many drawbacks to using this material. Today, most people are not aware of the dangers that PVC poses to humans and the environment (APHA, 2011, p. 1). The overall lifecycle of PVC products is dangerous, because workers are exposed to PVC on a daily basis and vinyl chloride is a known human carcinogen (Gold & Helfand, 2002). Not only are the workers at a great risk, but the communities surrounding the factories that manufacture and dispose of PVC materials face a risk (Gold & Helfand, 2002). In the film Blue Vinyl, families were forced out of their homes when groundwater became contaminated from the manufacturing of PVC (Gold & Helfand, 2002). Also, the film gave eye witness accounts to the trees being brown in their neighborhoods due to being close to the factories that produced PVC, while trees on the other side of the river were considerable greener in color. The production of PVC creates …show more content…
Altogether, PVC has been shown to be dangerous during formation, disposal, and the lifecycle between. PVC is part of many products that humans use on a daily basis, but there are proposed alternatives to PVC plastics. Today, silicone and rubber are materials that could take place of PVC in medical tubing or linoleum on the floor, which could lead to healthier cheaper options (APHA, 2011, p. 4). Overall, the material can cause to many negative health effects and poses a great risk to our environment, which ultimately will come back to impact
...d for the general public in order to raise social awareness in preventing polluting the world. It is important to raise social awareness on topics of this nature because it is affecting our world. It is important to consider it as every individual problem and concern rather than see it as an external issue. Saukko chose a whole new approach and technique to get into people’s mind. Usually, authors that want to point out and raise social awareness on issues of this nature, tend to be direct and straightforward about it. However, Saukko has taken it to the next level by approaching the readers in a unique way that will catch more of their attention and hopefully move their emotions on the topic.
In conclusion, although PVC can have detrimental effects on the environment and on ourselves but if we use PVC carefully and responsibly then I think PVC should be used so we can feel the economic benefits and so it can be used in our everyday life. However, it must be controlled.
Green washing: The disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. In order for big companies to stay on top of the market today, they are forced to think of advertising strategies to help their public image and advertise their product. Over the years the system has become very complex and also very questionable. Companies are willing to lie, change their logo, and sometimes even their company name just to keep their name and image clean in front of the public just to make sure that they are making their money. Green washing helps this by advertising to the public that they are environmentally supportive and responsible. Most people that are into buying “green products” do not even realize that the company they are buying from is green washing in some sort of way just so that they can attract attention to the public. Green washing companies may advertise that they are “eco-friendly”, but when it comes down to it, the facts hidden behind the curtains beg to differ. Just like in the green washing video we watched in class, the companies may look great compared to the worst companies, but that does not mean what they are doing is still productive for our environmental movement. One company that has been notorious for their green washing efforts for the past couple of decades is the Oil/energy company: British Petroleum a.k.a. Beyond Petroleum. They are one of the world’s largest leading oil companies who has also becoming a large energy supplying company with presence in petrochemicals, gas, and solar divisions. Over the past twenty years BP has been the cause of several deadly disasters in the oil business in the U.S. and around the world. Despite their green washing effor...
Then the documentary tackles Puget Sound. The Duwamish River is the largest hot spot in the nation. In 2001, the Duwamish River was classified as a “Super Fund” site. This is given to a site that will receive federal assistance for clean up. But yet, it may be too late. Puget Sound in contaminated with PCP, lead and mercury. The threat comes from the giant industrial polluters of old and from chemicals in consumers’ face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains, eventually into America’s waterways and drinking water.
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. (2004, August 11). Environmental Roadmapping Initiative. Retrieved October 14, 2011, from Plastics Impacts, Risks and Regulations: http://ecm.ncms.org/ERI/new/IRRPlastics.htm
It is a kind of plastic that originates from consolidating ethylene (found in unrefined petroleum) and chlorine (found in salt). At the point when joined together these substances get to be Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) gum, or as it is better known - Vinyl. It is then further handled to be made more adaptable, inflexible, semi-fluid, clear or bright, thick or thin.
This maximises the intermolecular forces between the chains as they are able to pack closely together. However, this reduces the flexibility and is therefore quite rigid and strong. This isotactic polyvinyl chloride structure occurs very little. Another structure that is produced very little is the syndiotactic PVC. The syndiotactic PVC has a regular arrangement and has similar properties of flexibility, rigidity and strength to the isotactic PVC as shown in Figure #.
There is also debate on how much better biodegradable plastics are in the first place. This is because as biodegradable plastics break down, they break up into smaller and smaller pieces, but never quite disappear. This leaves the potential that the plastic would continue entering the food chain. But although biodegradable plastics aren’t perfect, they are still much safer than standard plastic and present a much lower risk. In addition, by making the shift to ban single use plastics, research towards better plastic alternatives will speed up and better solutions will become available. Over time, these new alternatives to plastics may spread to other items that aren’t single use, making an even greater impact on the health of humans and the
It is also easier to work with suppliers, since PVC is a known product (Lee & Bony, 2009). While the major drawback of this material is that the product would not be deemed as a C2C and PVC-free product (Lee & Bony, 2009). Using TPU instead is multi-beneficial in the long run. Firstly, the company can market itself as an environmental friendly company better, by producing the “first highly engineered product to use the C2C protocol” (Lee & Bony, 2009, p.10). Moreover, it is a precious opportunity to launch the product on the coming annual trade fair, where customers will come for the most recent designs (Lee & Bony, 2009, p.11). The PVC-free chair will be mind-blowing at the fair, considering more customers starting to acknowledge environmental performance as an important aspect. In addition, this product will set a new industry standard for sustainability, inspiring the suppliers and the competitors in this industry to develop their product according to C2C protocol. However, since TPU is still a newly identified material, “testing with production tooling at higher volume still needed to be done”, and not to mention that TPU is uneconomical (Lee & Bony, 2009, p.11). Besides, the public might expect all other products from Herman Miller to be PVC-free (Lee & Bony, 2009,
Although companies across the globe continue to produce multiple polycarbonate #7 plastic products with BPA, more is being noticed about the adverse health effects to humans can be harmful. Testing on mice has proven that some exposure to BPA can be linked to Cancer and neurological disorders. In countries which have banned the use of BPA in different products, would agree that this chemical is toxic and dangerous. However, as long countries like the United States, who do not currently support banning BPA countrywide due to limited scientific data to back all claims, BPA will continue to be a global issue which continues to be hidden in the dark and a mystery globally
The Web. The Web. 1 May 2014. http://naturalresources.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=8267>. The “PV Report” www.ise.fraunhofer.de.
Millions of plastic bags are given out to consumers by supermarkets and stores to carry their goods in. They are also cheap, light, durable, easy to carry and in many cases, free. The most commonly used shopping bag is made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This type is used in the majority of supermarkets and stores. After these bags are used, they often end up in landfills or as litter, roughly only three percent of plastic bags is actually recycled per year (Planet Ark, 2011). The materials used in making plastic bags make them non-biodegradable. According to the science dictionary, 2011 refers to “these materials cannot be decomposed into environmentally safe waste materials by the action of soil bacteria.” These harmful substances are toxic and take approximately four hundred years to break down, or in this case photo-degrade; which is how plastics made from (HDPE) break down. Since they are not biodegradable, they remain in the environment and are absorbed in soil or water (Indian Centre for Plastics in the Environment, 2010). This essay will discuss the various harmful effects of plastic bags, and demonstrate the risks that these bags impose on humans, animals and the environment. It will also discuss a series of suggested solutions that could help reduce plastic bag usage.
However it goes widely undiscussed that employees in these professions, are directly exposed to toxins on a daily basis. Sara Alcid, is a writer, eco-feminist and activist. Sara Alcid in her article “What is Eco-Feminism” wrote “Again, it’s not a coincidence that low-income women of color are disproportionately burdened by toxic chemicals through their jobs, and the eco-feminist lens helps illuminate this reality.” In many of these professions that have exposure to toxic chemicals, women of color and immigrants are over represented. Exposure to large amounts of chemicals causes severe health side effects such as infertility, life threatening illness and even cancer. Lower income women particularly, don’t have protection from chemicals while working. Women who work in hazardous jobs are more likely to be immigrants, and less likely to have access to health insurance. Without health insurance, employees are unable to treat an illness that arises as a result of their profession. Consequently this leads to a higher cause of death to employees of low income, who work in these chemically hazardous
Eliminate sources of dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including PVC, and ensure legislation to prevent toxic waste dumping.
Charles and Keith uses synthetic materials and polyurethane to ensure affordable prices of their products (Singapore Press Holding, 2009). However, the qualities of the products are not compromised despite its inexpensive prices. The managing director Charles Wong reassured the customers that although the ...