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US PVC industry criticises Greenpeace campaign against PVC in construction
PVC products for use in construction perform well in life-cycle analyses, say the Americans.
29-08-2001
Greenpeace USA has just launched a campaign against PVC use in construction work. For example, the organisation has prepared a publication entitled This Vinyl House: Hazardous Additives in Vinyl Consumer Products and Home Furnishing (see http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/toxics/vinylhouse.htm). Greenpeace also recently established an international database, which informs buyers of where to purchase PVC-free building materials. The attacks made by Greenpeace against PVC building materials are motivated by the familiar allegations of dioxin pollution and exposure to phthalates, lead, cadmium, and organotine.
The CEO of the American PVC industry, Tim Burns, has commented on the Greenpeace campaign in Plastic News, where his observations include remarks on the fact that Greenpeace recommends the use of wooden windows rather than PVC windows. According to Greenpeace, modern wooden windows require minimal maintenance and might potentially outlast PVC windows. Says Burns: “All the people who have spent many a summer hour painting their wooden windows will probably the surprised by this recommendation”.
In his article, Burns also states that many life-cycle analyses have been carried out since the late 1980s, at least 26 of which have addressed building and construction products. Generally speaking, the conclusions of these analyses have pointed out that PVC products present environmental advantages. Particularly as regards energy consumption, insulation, CO2 emissions, durability, and maintenance, PVC products boast positive environmental properties. Not all studies point to PVC as the definite winner, says Burns. Often, the various materials show relatively little variance in terms of environmental impact.
In his article, Burns recommends that all interested stakeholders from the building and construction industry visit the website www.vinylbydesign.com, which provides detailed descriptions of the various PVC building materials. For example, this site offers information on the history of the various PVC products, their technical specifications, and their impact on the environment.
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