Improving the Healthiness of Sustainable Construction: Example of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

• Main Authors: Emina Kristina Petrović, Lydia K. Hamer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-02-01
• Series: Buildings
• Subjects: polyvinyl chloride; PVC; vinyl; phthalates; recycled PVC; human health; toxicity of building materials; sustainable construction; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/8/2/28

With the increasing emphasis on sustainable construction, it has become important to better understand the impacts of common materials. This is especially paramount with the introduction of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which call for more comprehensive evaluations, adding many aspects of social consideration to the issues of environmental sustainability, including human health. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/vinyl can be seen as a material with potential for significant adverse effects on a multiplicity of levels, and the construction industry is its single most significant consumer. This article presents a transdisciplinary review of adverse health impacts associated with PVC showing a number of issues: some that could be eliminated through design, but also some which appear inherent to the material itself and therefore unavoidable. The totality of issues revealed in relation to PVC presents a compelling case for a call for complete elimination of use of this material in sustainable construction.