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Pink, Putrid & Plastic
Expert Opinion
Monday, June 20, 2011
By Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, award winning documentary filmmaker behind Toxic Baby™, writer and children’s environmental health advocate, Healthy Child Parent Ambassador and 2010 Mom on a Mission winner (read her inspiring story). “Mom on a Mission” is a national search for moms who make a difference. Each year, we award one woman working within her community to create a healthier and happier environment for children.
Now, we’re kicking off a blog series to feature the inspirational stories of our nominees and we'll feature one each month. Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2011 “Mom on a Mission” winner in September who will receive a $5,000 grant from Lifetime Television to continue her work and will be honored at a Healthy Child event.
I’ve come to realize that plastic is like that blasted ex-boyfriend of your younger nightmares. The “we’re so good together/you know you can’t live without me/I’m not going anywhere and I’m going to make a major scene” one. The guy you thought you loved so badly, only to realize that he was full of bull *bleep*.
Plastic, and especially vinyl, is just like that guy.
Just when you thought you had sworn off that last piece of PVC product, there it is, calling your name, whispering sweet toxic nothings in your ears, reminding you of the fact that you’ve spent most of your life thinking it was the greatest invention since sliced bread.
Here is my latest nightmare.
The dude [aka my son] has a twice weekly swimming class at the local university swimming pool and on our last visit we were confronted with this little number.
Yes, that is a pink shower curtain, and not just any old pink shower curtain, but a brand, spanking new pink, VINYL number. And I am sure it is pink because, as you may have guessed, we are in the ladies changing room. I know we can be a crazy, hormonal bunch but do we need a shower curtain to remind us of our gender?
Upshot? Both the dude and I backed up in complete horror when we saw it.
Or should I when I say smelt it.
Actually, I should say when I and only I smelt it. The dude’s horror was simply based on an instinctive, testosterone-fueled rejection of a wall of pink, pastel putridness.
“Ew! Why is it pink?” he howled.
“Ew! Why is it plastic?” I wanted to howl back, the obnoxious smell of phthalate containing PVC curdling my nostril hairs. (And no doubt my hormones, such is the nasty reproductive consequences of phthalate exposure.)
We both looked at each other and blinked and I half expected a Brooklyn version of Grease where Frankie Valli descends from heaven, via the disabled toilets, to sing me a song about summer loving the pink plastic. Which, granted may have rocked Frenchie’s world, but it wasn’t rocking mine.
Color corrected Dr. S phthalates from Penelope Jagessar Chaffer on Vimeo.
Now, I know very well why people are so enamored of plastic shower curtains. I have to say they have a point when Picasso is reincarnated in your five-year-old and the lovely, not to mention slightly pricey, cloth shower curtain is the most obvious place to start his version of "Guernica." With finger paints.
(No, it doesn’t come out in the wash.)
However considering the amount of time a child spends in the bathroom, a plastic shower curtain packs a mean phthalate punch. My horror was based on the fact that I know exactly what that vinyl smell means--and you should too.
Vinyl smell means phthalates, and what Dr. Sathyanarayana has to say (above) is just the tip of the iceberg. To make matters worse, shower curtains contain a host of other chemicals (Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs) which are linked to central nervous system, liver and kidney damage. Milder concerns include nausea, headaches and dizziness. Vinyl shower curtains can even contain LEAD and other heavy metals.
Hello? Lead in my shower curtain?
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice did a study in 2008 that looked closely at Vinyl/PVC shower curtains. Their study found that 108 different VOCs were released into the air over 28 days and for a period of 7 days, the total VOC level was over 16 times the recommended guideline for indoor air quality as given by the US Green Building Council. All of the shower curtains tested contained the phthalates DEHP and DINP which have been banned by the European Union from children’s toys. You can find the study here.
This backs up another study conducted by the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) which found one new vinyl shower curtain can release “elevated indoor air toxic concentrations…for more than a month”.
WHAT TO THINK ABOUT WHEN PURCHASING SHOWER CURTAINS
- If your household contains children, pregnant women or women of child bearing age who may have children in the near future, avoid buying vinyl shower curtains.
- If you do buy new, always air out plastic shower curtains for as long as possible before hanging. The smell issue is linked to chemical off gassing, which is a term used to describe a compounds migration from the product into the air.
- When airing out curtains, do so outside, if possible. In the city, that might mean hanging out them outside your window.
- A list of retailers stocking non-PVC shower curtains are listed by the Center for Health & Environment & Justice’s study (see above link) under the section “PVC and PVC-shower curtains sold at major retailers.”
- Consider cloth shower curtains or if renovating consider installing a shower cubicle or stall.
Footnotes:
[1] Chang, J.C.S., Fortmann, R. and N. Roache. 2002. Air toxics emissions from a vinyl shower curtain. Proceedings: Indoor Air 542-547. See also, Wallace, L.A. et al. 1991. Identification of polar volatile organic compounds in consumer products and common microenvironments. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Air and Waste Management Association, June 9.
Image Courtesy of kissyface / CC BY-SA 2.0
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Posted by string curtains on 08/09/2011 at 10:30 AM
Funny reaction from your son! But yes, aside from the terrible smell of these plastic vinyl shower curtains they also pose a huge health risk. Best to get rid of them for the safety of everyone. Better safe than sorry.