NEHA's Resolution on Dioxin, Health Care Facilities, and the Use of PVC, a Chlorine-Based Product Journal of Environmental Health, November 7, 1997

NEHA's [National Environmental Health Association's] Board of Directors reviewed the following resolution, and the Council of Delegates approved it on July 2, 1997.

The National Environmental Health Association, acknowledging, as did the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), that medical waste incinerators (MWIs) emit significantly less dioxin than previously estimated (150 grams per year instead of the initially assessed 5,100 grams); that, in addition, a 99 percent reduction in dioxin emission from both new and existing MWIs is anticipated from implementation of U.S. EPA's proposed MWI rule (1); and acknowledging, as did the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, that "there is no correlation between the amount or type of chlorine in the waste constituents of combustion facilities and dioxin concentrations measured at the stack ..." (2); and recognizing, as did the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the American College of Preventive Medicine, the important role that chlorine chemistry plays in our society, particularly in the prevention of disease through disinfection of public drinking water, the formulation of disinfectants, and formulation of refrigerants used in food preservation (3,4); and noting that PVC, in particular, has been recognized and accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international ministries of health as a component of medical devices and their packages, and that, in fact, about one quarter of medical devices are composed of PVC, which is widely used in manufacturing blood bags, intravenous fluid bags, oxygen tents, catheters, and component parts of many diagnostic instruments (5); and noting the significant role that chlorine chemistry plays in the formulation of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including vitamins and medicines to treat disease; and noting the public health and environmental concerns that have been raised regarding exposure to toxic substances, including some chlorinated organic chemicals; and recognizing the important role that PVC plays in medical settings; and noting that prevention is one of the basic tenets of public health; be it therefore resolved that the National Environmental Health Association

1. supports the continued responsible use of PVC, and 2. supports a scientifically based risk assessment process to evaluate the potential risks associated with the use or disposal of PVC products.

Submitted by Chris J. Wiant, Ph.D., Tri-County Health Department, Englewood, Colorado. References are available from NEHA's Journal Coordinator, Julie Collins at (303) 756-9090, ext. 304 Editor's Note: This article reprinted with permission of the Journal of Environmental Health, a publication of the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), an organization of 6,000 public and private sector environmental health professionals.