Study: Vinyl Shower Curtains Linked to Health Problems
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Vinyl shower curtains sold at major American retailers emit toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, according to a report released yesterday by a national environmental organization.
The curtains, sold at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart, among other major retailers, contained high concentrations of chemicals that are linked to liver damage as well as damage to the central nervous, respiratory, and reproductive systems, researchers for the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment & Justice said.
The organization commissioned the study about two years ago to determine what caused that “new shower curtain smell” familiar to most consumers.
“This smell can make you feel sick, give you a headache, make you feel nauseous or [cause] other health effects,” a co-author of the report, Michael Schade, said.
Researchers tested the chemical composition of five unopened polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, plastic shower curtains purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart. One of these curtains was then tested to determine the chemicals it released into the air.
The study found that these shower curtains contained high concentrations of phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive effects, and varying concentrations of organotins, which are compounds based on tin and hydrocarbons. One of the curtains tested released measurable quantities of as many as 108 volatile organic compounds into the air, some of which persisted for nearly a month.
Seven of these chemicals, which include toluene, ethylbenzene, phenol, methyl isobutyl ketone, xylene, acetophenone, and cumene, have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous air pollutants, the Center for Health, Environment & Justice’s science director and a co-author of the report, Stephen Lester, said.
Potential health effects included developmental damage; and harm to the liver and the central nervous, respiratory, and reproductive systems.
Phthalates and organotins, which are not chemically bonded to the shower curtain, are often added to soften or otherwise enhance the curtain; they more easily evaporate into the air or cling to household dust, Mr. Lester said. So do volatile organic chemicals, Mr. Lester said.
