February 5, 2004
Citizens’ Environmental Coalition Environmental Advocates
Great Lakes United
Learning Sustainability Campaign
New York Public Interest Research Group

New Tufts Report Concludes Vinyl Isn't Cheap
New Report Underscores Need for Phase-out of Vinyl at Controversial CertainTeed PVC Plant on Buffalo’s Waterfront

(Buffalo, NY) Vinyl products may appear to be cheap, but in many cases are actually more expensive than alternative materials that are safer for people and the environment according to a new report analyzing the full costs of vinyl products released today by Tufts University researchers. The report, entitled The Economics of Phasing Out Vinyl, concludes the economic advantages of vinyl or PVC are overstated, and that substituting vinyl with safer alternatives is cost-effective and practical. CertainTeed, a PVC producer and fabricator, has proposed to site a PVC fabrication plant at the Union Ship Canal on Buffalo’s waterfront. The new report, The Economics of Phasing Out Vinyl, underscores the need for the phase-out of vinyl at CertainTeed’s PVC plant in Western New York.

“The American public has been sold a short-sighted and wildly exaggerated claim about the economic benefits of vinyl. In the long-run, vinyl is no bargain at all,” said lead author Frank Ackerman, director of the Research and Policy Program, Global Development and Environment Institute, at Tufts University. “Our analysis shows phasing-out vinyl in favor of safer alternatives makes good sense from an economic perspective,” Ackerman said.

The report compares the cost of common vinyl products, including roofing, flooring, pipes, medical devices and siding. In many cases, a vinyl product that looks cheaper than alternatives, based on the price tag alone, is actually more expensive based on life cycle costing – that is, the total cost to the user for purchase, maintenance, and disposal over a fixed number of years. “In all product categories we looked at, affordable alternatives are available,” said Ackerman.

“The report debunks a widely held belief that phasing out PVC would impose a painful burden on the economy,” said Michael Schade, Western New York Director of Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. “This new information underscores the need for CertainTeed to make a commitment to phasing out PVC at its proposed fabrication plant in Buffalo.”

“The Great Lakes are already overburdened with a legacy of persistent toxic pollution from the production, use, and disposal of materials such as PVC,” said Bailey Myleville of Great Lakes United. “Now that we know that affordable and safer alternatives exist to PVC, CertainTeed should join the ranks of other companies in switching to safer materials. The health of the Great Lakes is at stake.”

"For too long, producers and vendors have taken an ostrich approach to their toxic materials - thrusting the economic and health burdens associated with their products onto consumers and taxpayers," said David Higby, solid waste project director with Environmental Advocates of NY, "this report demonstrates loud and clear that this unjust pattern can and should end."

“When its entire lifecycle is considered, vinyl may be associated with more dioxin formation than any other single product,” said Mary Carney, Regional Coordinator of the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). “Dioxin is the most potent synthetic carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals, and it damages development, reproduction, and the immune and endocrine systems at infinitesimally low doses.”

"It is unfortunate that City, County and State elected officials have decided to invest precious public money in a questionable PVC facility on Buffalo's environmentally fragile waterfront,” said Jay Burney of the Learning Sustainability Campaign. “It goes against common sense and points out that the economic development principles followed by the Mayor, the County Executive, and the Governor are more focused on "beggars can’t be choosers" strategies, rather than realistic, critical, and pragmatic development principles focused on planning for a sustainable future."

CertainTeed is the seventh largest producer of PVC in the United States (Chemweek, 2001). CertainTeed’s vinyl is produced in Mossville, Louisiana – an African American community that has the largest number of vinyl production facilities in the United States. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) reported that Mossville residents have an average of three times more dioxin in their bodies than the average U.S. population. In some samples of Mossville residents’ blood, ATSDR detected high levels of the worst dioxins. Dioxin levels in breast milk samples from Mossville were 30% higher than the national average (Greenpeace).

“Mossville is a living testament to the fact that vinyl production, which releases massive quantities of cancer-causing chemicals, comes at a heavy price. Mossville residents have died from diseases related to this exposure and others are being treated for related health problems,” said Monique Harden, Co-Director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights based in Louisiana.

Nations around the world, as well as several U.S. cities, have taken steps to avoid vinyl products in favor of safer alternatives due to concerns about the health threats associated with their manufacture and use. The emissions from vinyl’s production, use and disposal -- including lead, cadmium and the potent human carcinogen dioxin -- are toxic chemicals that are highly persistent, and are known to build up in the food chain. This month, the U.S. Green Building Council, which has created the nation’s leading green building standards, will initiate a process to consider whether green credits should be issued to buildings that avoid vinyl.

For a copy of the Tufts report, visit http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/Economics_of_PVC.pdf.

For information on chemical body burden, visit http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org.