Safe material
PVC is non-toxic. It is a safe material and a socially valuable resource that has been used for more than half a century. It is also the world's PVC Gym MatsPVC Gym Matsmost researched and thoroughly tested plastic. It meets all international standards for safety and health for both the products and applications for which it is used.
The study 'A discussion of some of the scientific issues concerning the use of PVC' (1) by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia concluded in 2000 that PVC in its building and construction applications has no more effect on the environment that its alternatives.
Substitution of PVC by other materials on environmental grounds with no additional research or proven technical benefits will also result in higher costs. For example, as part of a housing renovation project at Bielefeld in Germany , it has been estimated that the replacement of PVC by other materials would lead to a cost increase of approximately 2,250 euro for an average sized apartment.
Restrictions on PVC use in construction applications would not only have negative economic consequences but also have wider social impacts, such as in the availability of affordable housing.
Fire resistant
Like all other organic materials used in buildings, including other plastics, wood, textiles etc., PVC products will burn when exposed to a fire. PVC products however are self-extinguishing, i.e. if the ignition source is withdrawn they will stop burning. Because of its high chlorine content PVC products have fire safety characteristics, which are quite favourable as. they are difficult to ignite, heat production is comparatively low and they tend to char rather than generate flaming droplets.
But if there is a bigger fire in a building, PVC products will burn and will emit toxic substances like all other organic products.
The most important toxicant emitted during fires is carbon monoxide (CO), which is responsible for 90 to 95 % of deaths from fires. CO is a sneaky killer, since we cannot smell it and most people die in fires while sleeping. And of course CO is emitted by all organic materials, be it wood, textile or plastics.
PVC as well as some other materials also emits acids. These emissions can be smelled and are irritating, making people try to run away from the fire. A specific acid, hydrochloric acid (HCL), is connected with burning PVC . To the best of our knowledge, no fire victim has ever been proven scientifically to have suffered HCl poisoning.
Some years ago no big fire was discussed without dioxins playing a major role both in communication and measuring programmes. Today we know that dioxins emitted in fires do not have an impact on people following the results of several studies on fire exposed people: The dioxin levels measured were never elevated against background levels. This very important fact has been recognised by official reports and we know that many other carcinogens are emitted in all fires, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and fine particles, which present a much higher hazard than dioxins.
So there are very good reasons to use PVC products in buildings, since they perform well technically, have good environmental and very good economic properties, and compare well with other materials in terms of fire safety.
CablingCablingGood insulator
PVC does not conduct electricity and is therefore an excellent material to use for electrical applications such as insulation sheathing for cables.
Versatile
The physical properties of PVC allow designers a high degree of freedom when designing new products and developing solutions where PVC acts as a replacement or refurbishment material.
PVC has been the preferred material for scaffolding billboards, interior design articles, window frames, fresh and waste water systems, cable insulation and many more applications.