A new report says that the smell given off by new vinyl shower curtains is chock-full of dangerous chemicals, reports the Los Angeles Times. Researchers tested PVC curtains purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart, and found that all of them contained “high concentrations” of what’s technically known as “bad stuff”—”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.” Update: the report is receiving criticism from some medical and science experts, including a spokeswoman for the CPSC.
“PVC is just bad from cradle to cradle,” said Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “It’s a mess when you create, it’s a mess when you get rid of it, and it’s off-gassing when you’re using it.”
So is it possible to buy PVC-free shower curtains? Yes! Target and Sears/Kmart say they’re phasing out PVC, while Bed Bath & Beyond is increasing the number of PVC-free curtains it offers. However, the authors of the report said that Wal-Mart didn’t respond to repeated requests for its PVC policy—which is odd, considering how quickly it moved to announce it would pull BPA products from shelves back in April.
“That ‘new shower curtain smell’ gives off toxic chemicals, study finds” [Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)
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READ the entire story from ABC News. The study is not accurate or statistically significant, so it is false.
Consumerist, good job on getting people to click on the story, though.
Key quote: “”It’s a great example of how quickly a sound bite can become dangerous and contagious,” said ABC News medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard.”
[abcnews.go.com]
@PedroDaGr8: Regardless of the one shower curtain tested I can tell you from past experiences that new, cheap vinyl products make me sick and I avoid them. The companies don’t care about healt effects from their products, they care about their profits and will always put them first ahead of everything else including making people sick.
And you drink poisons from plastic water bottles…
tip:
when your vinyl shower curtain gets dirty/nasty, put it in your washing machine (alone) with some bleach and a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid or detergent. comes out a bit wrinkled, but brand new! hang to dry and the wrinkles will settle after a couple days.