Hospitals, manufacturers seek safe alternate plastic.

Byline: Diane Dietz The Register-Guard

Nurse Ed McNeil discovered the dangers of phthalates two years ago in the tenderest of places: a threadlike tube fed into a premature infant's stomach to deliver nutrition while the infant gained the ability to suckle.

After a few days, the part of the tube inside the infant lost its flexibility and turned so hard it threatened to hurt the infant. The softening chemical phthalate had leached from the tube and into the baby.

Just then, the federal Food and Drug Administration came out with a warning: Studies of the phthalate type found in medical devices - such as feeding tubes, umbilical catheters and intravenous bags - were shown to cause genital deformities and sterility in rodents.

``Obviously, you can't test that in babies, but if it happens in another mammal, it gets people's attention,'' said McNeil, supervisor of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Today, manufacturers producing a broad spectrum of products are dropping the use of phthalates, a softening chemical used in polyvinyl chloride, a ubiquitous form of flexible plastic.

Microsoft announced Wednesday that it would stop using polyvinyl chloride in its packaging materials by the end of the year. Makers of children's toys, carpeting and a host of other products are following suit.

``It's the domino effect,'' said Lisa Arkin, executive director of the Oregon Toxics Alliance, which is trying to make the dominoes fall more quickly with its ``Vinyl Out of Oregon'' campaign.

The National Vinyl Institute disputes increasing safety concerns about polyvinyl chloride and points out that the product has been used for at least 50 years. Other supporters say the exposed rodents that became sterile may be more sensitive to the chemical than are humans.

Still, professionals in major companies and governments are working to eliminate or restrict the use of vinyl.

The city of Eugene avoided the use of vinyl flooring and wall fixtures in its new Fire Station 1, which opened in July at Willamette Street and 13th Avenue.

Mike Penwell, who oversees design and construction of city buildings, said he's read about health risks associated with polyvinyl chloride for three years, and he was skeptical at first: ``Oh yeah, just another thing to jump on like peanut butter causes cancer,'' he said.

But the sheer accumulation of evidence became convincing, and readily available substitutes to the interior fixtures made the change fairly easy, he said.

Firefighters, in the meantime, would like to rid all buildings of polyvinyl chloride. The substance releases dangerous hydrogen chloride when it burns.

``If you breathe that into your lungs you're breathing an acid. It's not good,'' said Gary Nauta, past president of the Local 851 Fire Fighters Union. ``It can kill you very quickly.''

The Eugene-based Oregon Toxics Alliance contends that the chemical isn't safe inside the home - in flooring, shower curtains and children's tub toy books - even with ordinary use.

Vinyl chloride is classified as a "known carcinogen" by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Objects made of the chemical "off-gas," Arkin said, meaning the volatile chemicals rise into the air. One example: the heavy duty plastic smell that arises when a person opens a new shower curtain.

``It's already off-gassing - right there in your hands - some very toxic chemicals,'' Arkin said.

Consumers can recognize some products made of vinyl chloride because they have a ``3'' or a ``v'' next to the triangular recycling symbol. But many others are unmarked.

Environmentalists object to products containing vinyl chloride because the plastic has a lot of additives, and it's not easy to recycle, Arkin said.

Microsoft is using the benign PET plastics in its new packaging. PET is commonly recycled as fleece fabric or carpeting materials. Eugene's public buildings are roofed with a PET plastic material, which was once milk cartons, Penwell said.

Switching from vinyl chloride products to those made of safer materials is getting easier to do, said McNeil, the Sacred Heart nurse.

Canada and Japan began switching over in the past two or three years, he said, so manufacturers are changing their materials.

Two years ago, when McNeil was looking for substitutes, the task wasn't as easy. He had to piece together treatment packets that came in kits containing the chemical. His 36-bed unit changed some processes to avoid using the tainted tubing. For instance, some infants with high bilirubin counts stayed under stronger lights instead of quickly going to a blood exchange, he said.

McNeil found alternatives for all of the uses, except there's no substitute for tubing inside highly sophisticated heart-lung machines used at Oregon Health Sciences University.

However, health care giant Kaiser Permanente announced it would phase out polyvinyl chloride wherever possible - so more alternative products are sure to become available.

Sacred Heart is looking into how it can use polyvinyl chloride-free medical devices in all units of the hospital, a spokesman said.

A McKenzie-Willamette Hospital spokesman on Wednesday could not determine the hospital's policy toward the chemical.

VINYL OUT

These firms announced recent reductions or phaseouts of products containing polyvinyl chloride, according to the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.

Crabtree & Evelyn: Phasing out packaging and developing a total elimination timeline

Catholic Healthcare West: Awarded a major contract last month for polyvinyl chloride-free intravenous systems

Hewlett-Packard : Announced it would eliminate polyvinyl chloride as safer alternatives emerge

Wal-Mart: Announced it will phase out polyvinyl chloride in private label packaging within two years

Firestone Building Products: Closed its polyvinyl chloride line in 2005, switching to safer materials

Shaw Industries: Stopped making polyvinyl chloride backing for carpets in 2005

Johnson and Johnson: Announced its goal of eliminating polyvinyl chloride in primary packaging