PVC - is it safe?

[mkhadem]

As i was browsing the internet, one of the top hits for PVC was this one:
http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/about.htm
Correct me if i'm wrong but as far as i'm aware they're talking about the same PVC many people use for mods and homemades.
Did anyone else know about the dangers? Or is it just a myth?
In a deeper link they give some alternatives for PVC pipes which include water pipes.

I posted this in the Modding/Buliding/Concepts forum because for some reason, in the News/Announcements forum there does not
appear to be a New Topic button, anyone else got this problem?

mkhadem

[DX]

Take a look at the companies they said were phasing out PVC - Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Wal-Mart, Crabtree & Evelyn, Victoria’s Secret, and Bath and Body Works. None of those actually make it or sell the kind we use. The common manufacturers providing PVC on the east coast are Charlotte and Bristol. There's a third, but I don't remember it because out here most hardware stores are stocking Bristol. I don't know if the rest of the country or other countries have other options. That article is mostly targeting PVC in ordinary consumer goods. PVC pipe has no recycle logos like the kind of PVC products it mentions - pipe is not something you throw away like toy wrapping.

Nevertheless, PVC is not a benign product. Treat it with caution as you would things like spray paint. I don't think anyone sits around and purposefully inhales freshly-sawed pipe or something. PVC is generally used for homemade water guns because it is cheap, readily available, and easy to repair. You could always use copper or something, but it's heavy and expensive. I also wouldn't be overly concerned, there's worse things around. PVC cement is by far worse than PVC - it contains arsenic and is extremely flammable. Fishing weights are made of lead; much more people directly handle those than pipe. Many old houses have lead paint and many old schools have asbestos. Public drinking water contains enough contaminants to register in a high school level lab test. Your house walls could contain toxic mold and you'd never even notice. Life is too short to worry about these things. Just use common sense when handling potentially dangerous products.

[SSCBen]

There are definitely concerns but most anti-PVC websites are exaggerating the problems so much as to make me suspicious of any claim they make. For example, note that no distinction is made between plasticized and unplasticized PVC... this is because they want to imply that most/all PVCs contain DEHP, a plasticizer. PVC pipe is unplasticized. (Don't get me wrong though--I don't disagree with their goal, but I do think its wrong to misrepresent the facts towards any goal).

Will PVC properly used in water guns kill you or cause any significant health problems? The chance is so low I'd venture to say never.

I do think PVC for most things should be phased out, but for the mean time PVC for water guns seems perfectly fine.

We're not drinking from the pipe. We're not eating off the pipe. We don't stick the pipe in our mouths. We're not directly inhaling PVC cement. We don't burn the pipe. The time the water spends in the pipe is so low I'd be surprised if anything substantial leeches out. If you want to minimize your contact with the pipe, assemble a water gun with gloves (this is great for the cementing part actually) and put some bike tape where the handle is (which makes it much more comfortable too).

There is far more cause for concern in the manufacture of PVC and the environmental impact at this stage. Sadly, the alternatives aren't much better if any better from what I've read. I'll have to pull up some links.

If you're really concerned you can use other products when building and research which are the best to use. Don't be surprised when they are more expensive or what you are looking for doesn't exist as the infrastructure is built around PVC at the moment.