Apple Phases Out PVC From Products. Why Is It Still Used in Municipal Drinking Water Projects?

GOLDEN, CO – The following statement was issued by Patrick Hogan, president of the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, regarding news that Apple has phased out PVC from its products:

“We’re seeing more and more companies – small and large, international leaders – shift away from the chemical concoction of PVC that still raises too many unanswered questions. The announcement that Apple has eliminated PVC from its products coupled with recent reports that ‘virtually all of the world’s tap water is contaminated by microscopic plastic fibers,’ shows that the plastics industry is still incapable of appropriately answering these questions. Savvy consumers are becoming more insistent in their demands that household products and other items used in daily life are PVC- free. The more we learn about the health hazards posed by polyvinyl chloride, the more it just doesn’t seem worth the risk.

 “If industry titans are unwilling to include PVC in products such as smart phones, it begs the question of why communities would want to use PVC to transport its drinking water to our homes, schools, businesses, and health facilities. Local water professionals and elected officials should continue to ask these questions that the PVC industry is still failing to give an appropriate answer to, and until then follow suit with companies such as Apple and Wal-Mart and refrain from using PVC in our drinking water systems.”

NOTE: Apple’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Progress Report, covering fiscal year 2016, noted: “It took us four years to remove polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, from our power cords and headphone cables. We tested dozens of formulations until we finally found the right blend of durability, safety, and environmental performance in the nonchlorinated and nonbrominated thermoplastic elastomers that we used as replacements.”