Former Greenpeace Leader Defends PVC

In the July 16th issue of USA Today it was a reported that electronics companies are trying to remove “nasty chemicals” from their products. In their list of “nasty chemicals” they had made health claims about PVC (polyvinyl chloride) that were pushed by Greenpeace, an international environmental organization.

In a letter to the editor, Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace has condemned the electronic manufacturers for “blindly following the Greenpeace political agenda,” which is “devoid of any scientific basis.” He goes on to point out how PVC is one of the safest and most sustainable materials available.

Keep reading for his full letter to the editor of USA Today.

The reason I left Greenpeace was because of scientifically-baseless campaigns like the one aimed at removing PVC from electronics ("Electronics makers break out 'green' initiatives," July 16).

PVC is one of the most safe, sustainable, flexible and cost-effective materials available. Alternatives are more expensive, less versatile and often pose unknown health or environmental risks.

The most rigorous risk assessment ever undertaken by the European Union on plasticizers used in PVC - conducted over 10 years - concluded that these widely used plasticizers should not be classified as hazardous and pose no risks to either human health or the environment from their current use.

Contrary to the statements of some anti-PVC activists, all types of PVC products can be recycled and reprocessed into second-generation products. More than one billion pounds of PVC are recovered and recycled into useful products in North America annually. Additionally, compared to other materials typically used in computers, PVC is among the lowest in terms of embodied energy and emissions of CO2 in its manufacture. It is therefore one of the most climate-friendly materials.

As for the burning of PVC referenced in your article, if Greenpeace and other activists are truly concerned about dioxin, they should be seeking a ban on wood-burning fireplaces and on- and off-road engines, since those are the single biggest sources of dioxin emissions in the country. By comparison, the vinyl sector contributes about 13 grams - less than 1 percent of the total amount of dioxin generated annually in the United States.

Electronics manufacturers appear to be blindly following the Greenpeace political agenda, an agenda devoid of any scientific basis that will result in more expensive, less climate-friendly products whose
health and environmental risks are unknown.