LEAD IN VINYL PRODUCTS
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BACKGROUND: The manufacture of vinyl (an organic chemical polymer) products requires the addition of a variety of additives. These products all undergo degradation and decomposition when exposed to heat and mechanical stress during formulation, molding or extrusion. They are also degraded by light, heat, stress, and air pollution encountered in everyday use. For this reason, one or more toxic chemical stabilizers, such as lead, cadmium and phthalate are required for each type of plastic. Because of their tendency to clump and migrate when subject to weathering direct sunlight and stress, stabilizers normally accumulate unevenly on plastic surfaces. This has been found to be true for vinyl miniblinds, most of which are made with a lead plasticizer. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has warned consumers about vinyl miniblinds. The CPSC found that over time the plastic deteriorates from exposure to sunlight and heat to form dust on the surface of the blind. The amount of lead dust that formed from the deterioration varied from blind to blind. One of the items tested had hundreds of milligrams of lead per square foot. The same degradation may be associated with vinyl siding. In the U.S., vinyl construction materials, including Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are responsible for almost 75% of all vinyl use. It is used in conduit, electrical wire insulation, flues, gutters, siding, flooring, fencing, roofing, piping, windows, weather-strip, flashing, moldings, carpet fibers and wallpaper backing as well as for many consumer products including children’s lunch boxes. The vinyl that contains lead is widely used. HAZARD POTENTIAL: "Potential lead releases from…PVC must be viewed as a major potential health hazard"1. There are many articles available that discuss the need to remove lead as a plasticizer from PVC. Lead stabilizers are released when they are formulated, used and disposed. Unfortunately, the safer alternatives to lead plasticizers are often more expensive and are not widely used in manufacture. Most PVC is not made in the U.S. and is not as well regulated as it might be in the U.S. TESTING: LeadCheck® Swabs are a very sensitive screening test that will detect the presence of lead in vinyl. To test for lead in a vinyl product
INTERPRETATION: Any pink color that appears on the test surface or the tip of the swab indicates the presence of lead. The color may be uneven due to the "clumping" of the stabilizer. The color may become darker with time due to the "migration" of the inorganic "clumps" to the surface. Some lead pigments are very insoluble, so allow longer development time (overnight) before assuming a result is negative. Orange is not a positive indicator of lead. 1Thornton, Joe, Ph.D. "Environmental Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Building Materials". A briefing paper for Healthy Building Network, http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html This note provides a suggested method to allow testing for this specific application. Additional information and help are available by calling 800-262-5323 or 508-651-7881 LeadCheck® Swabs detect leachable lead from vinyl surfaces, such as mini-blinds and lunchboxes, based on a reaction between lead and a lead reactive reagent. In this interaction color development increases in proportion to increasing lead concentration. LeadCheck® Swabs is the only qualitative colorimetric lead detection product that offers the user the opportunity to estimate lead concentration on an item. When LeadCheck® Swabs are used, it is possible to suggest lead concentration ranges associated with each series of color gradations.  
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