Vinyl Chloride And Cancer

Vinyl chloride is classified as group 1 carcinogen by the iarc meaning it is seen as a definite cause of cancer in humans.

Vinyl chloride and cancer.

On average there is a 22 year delay between exposure and cancer. Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula h 2 c chcl that is also called vinyl chloride monomer vcm or chloroethene this colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride pvc. Vinyl chloride a chemical known to cause cancer poisons the air breathed by workers and people living in contaminated communities. Later in the 1960s workers exposed to vinyl chloride presented different types of cancer.

The first website i found relating to the effects of vinyl chloride came directly from cancer gov. Vinyl chloride is known to cause cancer in humans especially a rare type of liver cancer called angiosarcoma. One man from a plant in louisville kentucky developed angiosarcoma a rare cancer in his liver. In laboratory animals decreased fertility abortion and birth.

Listed below are the health effects where the evidence is sufficient to conclude that a causal relationship is at least as likely as not but not sufficient to conclude that a causal relationship exists equipoise and above in people exposed. Vinyl chloride is a deadly toxic chemical despite industry s repeated attempts to hide the threats. Another study done in 1970 reported that test animals exposed to 30 000 ppm of vinyl chloride developed cancerous tumors. They are also 5 times more likely to develop liver cancer hepatocellular carcinoma.

Types of cancer. Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer hepatic angiosarcoma as. Vinyl chloride is used to make polyvinyl chloride pvc. Exposure to vinyl chloride may come through inhalation via tobacco smoke and can unfortunately contaminate the water supply.

Available human evidence is inadequate to determine if there is an increased risk of abortion or birth defects with exposure to vinyl chloride. Studies of long term exposure in animals showed that cancer of the liver and mammary gland may increase at very low levels of vinyl chloride in the air 50 ppm. About 13 billion kilograms are produced annually. Vinyl chloride is used primarily to make pvc a substance used in products such as pipes.

Learn about vinyl chloride which can raise the risk of a rare form of liver cancer as well as brain and lung cancers and leukemia and lymphoma. Brain cancer lung cancer and some cancers of the blood also may be connected with breathing vinyl chloride over long periods. Pvc workers are 45 times more likely to develop angiosarcoma.