For the protection of Americans, the American Chemical Society (ACS) assigns what is known as a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number to identify different chemical compounds. Vinyl Chloride has the CAS number of 75-01-4.
The ACS keeps documentation on research and events which involve Vinyl Chloride and are an excellent resource for these materials. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is another body regulating vinyl chloride. The EPA has calculated an inhalation unit risk estimate of 8.8 10-6 (g/m3)-1 for vinyl chloride lifetime exposure. This chemical is difficult to detect because it is colorless and often a faint sweet smelling gas, although it is flammable. Vinyl Chloride has been deemed a hazardous chemical by OSHA and it has a 1 ppm (part per million) permissible exposure limit, which is still a level at which humans cannot detect the smell.
Thus, if a person were able to smell vinyl chloride this would be indicative of an egregious overexposure. Vinyl Chloride is also known by the names chloroethene, chloroethylene, chlorethylene, ethylene monochloride, monochloroethene, monochloroethylene, VC, and vinyl chloride monomer. It is supplied commercially as a liquid under pressure. Vinyl Chloride is used primarily in EDC (ethylene dichloride) plants, in methyl chloroform plants, and, most frequently, in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) processing and fabricating plants. PVC actually is derived from a vinyl chloride monomer compound. PVC is used to make a plethora of different consumer products including, but not limited to:
* Vinyl siding.
* Plastic cards (credit, ID, etc.).
* Window profiles.
* Conduit fixtures, pipe or plumbing.
* Insulation.
* Clothing and upholstery.
* Flooring.
* Roofing membranes.
* Electrical cables.
* Containers.
* Battery cell separators.
* Phonograph records.
* Irrigation systems.
* Latex paints.
Clearly, individuals working in or around any location or manufacturing plant utilizing vinyl chloride should be aware of the risks inherent in exposure to this chemical. Indeed, those working in PVC plants receive a higher dosage of vinyl chloride than those employed to create it. In the past vinyl chloride was also used as a component of aerosol products, and also for medical applications. Now though, it is illegal to employ vinyl chloride as an aerosol propellant according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the EPA, and the FDA. In order to avoid serious side effects, it has been recommended by both The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act to reduce the emissions and use of vinyl chloride. The maximum amount of exposure and contamination are defined in both pieces of legislation. The EPA is the government body which has the authority to regulate vinyl chloride as established under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. The FDA has disallowed using this substance in pharmaceuticals, and in any materials used to contain consumables. Not only have the uses on vinyl chloride been restricted, but according to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 one or more pounds dispersed into the local environs (air, water or soil) must be stated and registered with the Toxics Release Inventory established by the EPA.
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