PVC

[Gina Heitz <brier@oregonsbest.com>]

  I don't know but I do think that some newer homes have PVC
plumbing, I know many moble homes do.... 

Poly vinyl chloride has been banned to bring water into your home to
drink and bath. Black PVC is considered cancer causing.

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/roc/ninth/known/vinylchloride.pdf
http://www.vpirg.org/campaigns/consumer/toySafety.html

and some somewhat older studies.
Environ Health Perspect 1983 Oct;52:61-6
Toxicity of vinyl chloride 
and poly(vinyl chloride): a critical review.
Wagoner JK.

In 1974, vinyl chloride (VC) was first reported in the open scientific
literature to induce angiosarcoma of the liver both in humans and in
animals. Additional research has now demonstrated the carcinogenicity of
VC 
to other organs and at lower concentrations. The target organs for VC now
clearly include the liver, brain and the lung, and probably the 
lymphohematopoietic system. The evidence for a carcinogenic risk has been
extended to jobs associated with poly(vinyl chloride) exposure. Cases of
liver angiosarcoma have been reported among individuals employed in PVC
fabrication facilities and an epidemiological study has demonstrated a
significant association between exposure to PVC dust and the risk of lung
cancer mortality. Cases of angiosarcoma of the liver also have been 
reported among individuals living in near proximity to vinyl 
chloride-poly(vinyl chloride) plants. An association between PVC dust and
pneumoconiosis also has been demonstrated. On the basis of findings,
prudent control of PVC dust in the industrial setting is indicated.
PMID: 6360677 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Environ Health Perspect 1981 Oct;41:227-31
Needs for public health 
intervention and needs for new research on vinyl halides and their 
polymers: a public policy perspective.
Hattis D.
Consideration of needs for public health interventions and new research
requires comparative assessments of the health benefits that are likely
to 
result from alternative uses of limited regulatory and technical
resources. 
This paper briefly examines regulatory and research priorities in the
light 
of recent information on the carcinogenic hazards of vinyl chloride and
alkyl and vinyl halides related to vinyl chloride, the respiratory-system
hazards of poly (vinyl chloride), and the reproductive hazards of vinyl
chloride. Specific suggestions are made for relatively promising types of
efforts in these areas.
PMID: 7333240 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Environ Health Perspect 1981 Oct;41:167-9
Review of pulmonary effects 
of poly(vinyl chloride) and vinyl chloride exposure.
Lilis R.
The contributions of several recent reports to the definition of
pulmonary 
effects of PVC dust inhalation are reviewed. Granulomatous reaction, with
inclusion of PVC particles in macrophages and histocytes, and associated
interstitial pulmonary fibrosis have been found to lead to exertional
dyspnoea, diffuse micronodular chest radiographic opacities and
restrictive 
pulmonary dysfunction. The effects of vinyl chloride (VC) monomer (gas)
on 
proteins and the immunologic mechanisms triggered by the altered protein
are possible mechanisms for the development in some cases of interstitial
pulmonary fibrosis secondary to VC exposure. Vinyl chloride, a confirmed
carcinogen, has been associated with, among other malignant tumors, a
significant increase in the incidence of lung cancer. The magnitude of
this 
effect has not yet been completely evaluated.
PMID: 7333234 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Environ Health Perspect 1981 Oct;41:85-8
Results of sputum, cytology 
among workers exposed to vinyl chloride monomer and to poly(vinyl
chloride).
Maltoni C, Lodi P.
The results of systematic cytological sputum examinations of 3,380
Italian 
VC-PVC industry workers and of 2,287 workers in other industries at 
different potential risk and chosen as control groups are reported. The
results indicate an increase in cellular abnormalities and dysplasias in
the epithelium of the respiratory tract among VC-PVC workers. These data
are in line with experimental results showing that VC produces lung
tumors 
in mice and with early epidemiological evidence among exposed
workers.
PMID: 7333246 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]