Vinyl Chloride Lawsuit Attorneys

As more information about health risks is learned through medical technology, more substances are being identified as being linked to cancer risk. The realization that people are regularly coming into contact with toxic chemicals at home and in the workplace has placed a greater focus on identifying and eliminating harmful substances posing risks to people and the environment.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is an example of a widely used synthetic material that has been shown to harm those who have been exposed, causing cancer and death. Dioxin (the most potent carcinogen known), ethylene dichloride, hydrochloric acid and vinyl chloride are created in the production of polyvinyl chloride, which can cause severe health problems, including cancer, birth defects and other serious health hazards.

Polyvinyl chloride is used heavily in the construction industry, found in medical products, used to make popular household items (such as plumbing pipes and shower curtains) and, before the early 1970's, PVC was used in aerosol cans. Many health care structures have tried to phase out the use of polyvinyl chloride (used as a key component in medical products like IV bags and tubing) in its new policies so that the problematic material is no longer found in the medical product arena. Still, eleven million pounds of polyvinyl chloride materials are used in the construction industry, with 75 percent of all the polyvinyl chloride manufactured in the United States.

The people at highest risk for dangerous polyvinyl chloride exposure are those who work with or near manufacturing plants that use polyvinyl chloride in their products. These workers include fabricators, railroad and transportation workers and factory employees. And because of the use of PVC in aerosol cans prior to the early 1970s, beauticians also belong to this high-risk group. People who live near landfills, hazardous materials sites and manufacturing facilities that work with or produce PVC may also have an increased risk of being poisoned by polyvinyl chloride if exposed to PVC either by inhalation or by drinking contaminated water.

The high level of polyvinyl chloride workers are exposed to continues to endanger men and women at the workplace every day. This everyday exposure leads to a number of health problems including circulatory impairment, weakened immune system, and disintergration of bones and fingers. Long-term exposure to polyvinyl chloride can lead to several types of cancer and other serious conditions, such as Reynaud's Syndrome.

Exposure to polyvinyl chloride is linked to brain and lung cancers, endocrine disruption, endometriosis, neurological damage, birth defects and impaired child development and reproductive and immune system damage. Environmentally speaking, polyvinyl chloride is considered the worst plastic; however, the construction industry has been using and continues to use PVC the most in piping, vinyl siding, vinyl flooring, as well as countless other products despite the availability of safer and more cost effective alternative materials.

Polyvinyl chloride lawsuits representing workers now suffering serious health effects due to overexposure have alleged a conspiracy theory. Some industry experts have claimed hundreds of thousands of workers were exposed to polyvinyl chloride for years without realizing their increased cancer risk because the chemical industry denied them the information. If you have been working with polyvinyl chloride and are now suffering health effects because of it, please contact us to learn your legal rights and options.

If we can help you; if you have any questions; call today,(800) 718-4658, or e-mail, info@personalinjurylawcal.com.