Post by joan on Feb 15, 2011 13:54:53 GMT -5
How many of you use PVC coated cages? This was sent to me by a woman who's adopting one of my older hobs when I asked her why she didn't want to get a Martin cage because it's PVC coated.
"Phthalates leach out of vinyl products. Phthalates are not chemically bonded to the plastic but are merely mixed with the polymer during formulation. They therefore leach out of the plastic over time into air, water, or other
substances with which vinyl comes in contact.
Phthalates damage reproduction and development. Phthalates have been found to damage the reproductive system, causing infertility, testicular damage, reduced sperm count, suppressed ovulation, and abnormal development and function of the testes and male reproductive tract in laboratory animals. They are known carcinogens in laboratory animals."
Link to the article: www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html
This is from Wikipedia in an article on Polyvinyl Chloride:
"In the early 1970s, Dr. John Creech and Dr. Maurice Johnson were the first to clearly link and recognize the carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride monomer to humans when workers in the polyvinyl chloride polymerization section of a B.F. Goodrich plant near Louisville, Kentucky, were diagnosed with liver angiosarcoma also known as hemangiosarcoma, a rare disease.[36] Since that time, studies of PVC workers in Australia, Italy, Germany, and the UK have all associated certain types of occupational cancers with exposure to vinyl chloride. The link between angiosarcoma of the liver and long-term exposure to vinyl chloride is the only one that has been confirmed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. All the cases of angiosarcoma developed from exposure to vinyl chloride monomer
were in workers who were exposed to very high VCM levels, routinely, for many years. These workers cleaned accretions in reactors, a practice that has now been replaced by automated high-pressure water jets."
Most of my cages are the galvanized wire Quality Cages, but I do have a couple Martin cages as well as a Kritter Koncept cage. I'm certainly reconsidering whether it's safe to continue using the ones with PVC coating. Apparently the powder coated cages, which QC makes are safe to use.
"Phthalates leach out of vinyl products. Phthalates are not chemically bonded to the plastic but are merely mixed with the polymer during formulation. They therefore leach out of the plastic over time into air, water, or other
substances with which vinyl comes in contact.
Phthalates damage reproduction and development. Phthalates have been found to damage the reproductive system, causing infertility, testicular damage, reduced sperm count, suppressed ovulation, and abnormal development and function of the testes and male reproductive tract in laboratory animals. They are known carcinogens in laboratory animals."
Link to the article: www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/ThorntonPVCSummary.html
This is from Wikipedia in an article on Polyvinyl Chloride:
"In the early 1970s, Dr. John Creech and Dr. Maurice Johnson were the first to clearly link and recognize the carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride monomer to humans when workers in the polyvinyl chloride polymerization section of a B.F. Goodrich plant near Louisville, Kentucky, were diagnosed with liver angiosarcoma also known as hemangiosarcoma, a rare disease.[36] Since that time, studies of PVC workers in Australia, Italy, Germany, and the UK have all associated certain types of occupational cancers with exposure to vinyl chloride. The link between angiosarcoma of the liver and long-term exposure to vinyl chloride is the only one that has been confirmed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. All the cases of angiosarcoma developed from exposure to vinyl chloride monomer
were in workers who were exposed to very high VCM levels, routinely, for many years. These workers cleaned accretions in reactors, a practice that has now been replaced by automated high-pressure water jets."
Most of my cages are the galvanized wire Quality Cages, but I do have a couple Martin cages as well as a Kritter Koncept cage. I'm certainly reconsidering whether it's safe to continue using the ones with PVC coating. Apparently the powder coated cages, which QC makes are safe to use.
My concern had always been for the cage biters. According to this article it doesn't need to be ingested to cause damage
yikes! So this also includes the drinking water pipes in my house...they are CPVC the flexable stuff...we had to re-pipe the whole house about 6-7 years ago...