PVC Poison - Is It Really Poisonous?
This topic is hotly debated and has been posted here and there among figure collectors, but I want to know what figure.fm users think of it.
In recent years there has been growing concern over PVC and if you google "PVC", already the 4th entry in google (at least for me) is a site called PVC: The Poison Plastic at http://www.pvcfree.org/ and this page http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/about.htm has some useful information if you are curious about further reading. Even Toys R' Us has been pressured into removing these PVC made toys from their shelves.
It seems that research shows that there is no doubt about the harmful effects of PVC during its production and destruction/recycling.
These range from Cancer-Causing Chemicals, Dioxins, etc to the ecological aspects of environmental damages.
Now, the big question is, are these PVC toys any different from our "high quality" anime figures? Are the materials inside our beloved figures the exact same as low end toys for babies and kids? Assuming that it is the same material, should we not be worried about it because most of the concerns come from babies and kids who put those toys in their mouth? I'm assuming nobody licks their PVC figures, so there is no worry of the saliva breaking down chemical bonds. But is that the only worry? Also, granted that they are designed in Japan and such, the blue prints are sent to China, where the majority of PVC toys are made. I'm not pointing any fingers here, our society is driven by money and everyone wants to cut corners.
I'm also seeing more complaints recently of figures from respectable companies being made of lower quality, even the material for the box!
Another thing I noticed is that, most figures have this "plastic smell", the more flexible material, the stronger it smells. Some people like this "new open box smell" and it is supposed to go away in a couple days/weeks. But sometimes, the smell lingers forever and does not go away even with smell-removing methods such as washing with vinegar and sodium bicarbonate. I have some high end figures whose smell is so strong that if not kept in its box, will stink up the room. Are these smells potentially harmful? And are they resulting from the slow breakdown of PVC?
I tried to make a poll, but it says wrong BBcode. Anyways, I welcome more knowledge and corrections to anything I may have said that is wrong! Thank you for reading.
I always breath the smell in deeply when I open a figure box.
I'm going to die ;_;
You aren't the only one. (;w;)
Same here O[]O!
i let the box and contents air out under open window ^^
I do that too! I love the (deadly) smell of fresh new figures.
we're all in the same boat XD
but my figure smells haven't been that strong yet that they don't go away.
I though I was the only one who did that.
Yay, I'm not weird!
Guilty as charged. Sooo good...*faint*
Count me in on this one. ^ ^;
well, the new figure smell is "bad" for you, since they are VOC. Unless you are actively working on some kind of PVC material (like, garage kit dust, or even Gundam Kit sandings), I think you are fine, unless you are trying to eat your figures.
or that's what I've heard
the dust from sanding gundam kits is definitely bad for you, these fine particles are like coal dust, in the old days people who worked in mines end up with scared lung tissue from these and end up dying from inefficient oxygen. but i trust most of us don't work with gundams or garage kits enough to cause disease, and those in the field have professional equipments that protects them from breathing such things
=P -or just wear a god damn mask...
to be honest, if you are sanding that much, you should probably be working at a garage or something...
PVC is bad for you if you freaking eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Well, it's a problem if our figures really are poisonous, but if I die because of them, I die happy =D
I always smell them after I took them out fresh from the box........still breather as of today (:
i think smelling pvc is like people who like to smell car exhaust and fresh paint etc..i know, because i used to love the smell of cars, but not anymore ^^ you won't die from it, but smelling these things definitely shaves off your life
Its okay, I'm sure I have a couple IQ points to spare for the cost of figure collecting.
I had alot of PVC gundam model kits.
So if PVC is dangerous, does it mean touching them is harmful as well? Because based on the comments above me, I think only a person who licks em and forgets to wash their hands after building gunpla might be the ones likely to get cancer. I maybe wrong so i hope an expert would clear things for me.
It's so sad that PVC becomes the terror of all collectors...T-T
i think the pvc in gundam kits are made of lesser quality than pvc of scaled figures, so do be careful! but i don't think touching is dangerous
Gundam model kits (assuming you're talking about the Bandai plamodels) aren't made of PVC, they're made of polystyrene, which is a completely different plastic.
yeah models that require assembling are good plastic and harmless, but I think he was talking about pvc like gashapon maybe?
I doubled checked the wikipedia and thankgoodness you were right. *whew*
I thought i was like... RIP wannbe17 cause of death building PVC gunpla models....
@Stargzer oh goodie. So touching wont do harm even in PVC. I got paranoid when the news spread of lead poisoning in the paint of children's toys so i assumed it will be the same thing with PVC made figures and models.
They can take my Dollfie Dreams and Obitsus when they pry them from my cold dead hands. Do you hear me? FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!! (Shakes 1/3 scale shotgun in the air.)
Here here! Granted, I'll admit to leaving new Figmas outside for a few days to let them outgas before putting them on permanent display, and I'd probably have to do the same to Agatha if I hadn't adopted her second-hand, but beyond that small (primarily odor-related) precaution, they're worth the risk to me!
Besides, seems like everything's deadly these days. ^^;
figmas that have very flexible parts smell more than others, (e.g. king kazma's red coat, saber's front skirt cover, rider's hair etc)
don't worry, event if you bite or suck them it's not toxic, only if you eat an swallow it, or if you burn it and smeel it.
what about the smell that is emitted naturally, without burning it?
The smell it's not dangerous.
For example think in all the bottle palstic in the world, i'm sure that you had drink form plastic bottle.
Also think in the baby toys, they all are made with pvc.
What i want to say it's that pvc it's only dangerous when it's in not solid form, or whrn is in solid form if you bunt it.
The smell of the figures comes form a product that fixed the paint and the colour and protect it from UV ray.
I'm sure that most drinking plastic bottle is not dangerous, but i remember the brand nalgene got into big trouble when people found out their plastic release some harmful chemical(s) in water. also, the whole pvc is poisonous thing started because of baby toys releasing dioxins and other cancer inducing agents into a growing child when the kid sucks on the material.
On the other hand, it seems like that pvc by itself is not causing the smell, but rather the stuff on it or mixed into it. So is this "product that fixed the paint and the colour and protect it from UV ray" harmful when sniffed?
The smell when you have some time opened it's go out That's because it's not the smell of the Pvc.
By other hand tha pvc dangerous of chidren was from low quality toys, like chinese bothleleg quality.
All the Pvd, incude wather bottle is toxic, but only if you swallow it or if you burn it, the smell of anime figures it's not toxic, don't worry.
T^T
I always take a big whiff of my figures too. I don't eat them, and they don't stink up my room, but I get sinus problems every so often.
It's like sniffing books. I can't stop! It's a drug!
don't sniff if you're sinus reacts to it! that's a clear sign your body don't like it ><
Lol I've caught on now. Fortunately, the strength of the smell goes away after a while.
I never heard PVC was poisonous before. Before being otaku I did't know about figures and the only thing made of PVC I knew were pipes. PVC pipes are very common in my home country, never imagined that a poisonous material would carry (drinkable) water! >_<
holy, i just realized how right you are o-o
we use pvc pipes for water everywhere too............and cosplay XD but i didn't think it was that bad or poisonous...
I do recall they did a report about it on CNN, and I do recall a thread on Figure.FM talking about this topic of "PVC figure = toxic?"
oh the CNN report was..it created lots of negative comments :S
In ancient Rome, the same pipes were made of lead which is far more toxic than PVC.
Regarding pvc pipes, I will quote this:
"Unfortunately, the material used in PVC pipe appears to be detrimental to a person's health and safety. Reported cases of PVC pipe shattering when used with high-pressured gases have increased drastically. The Federal Government has issued safety warnings, which strongly recommend using alternative piping material. In addition, the heavy metals used to create PVC pipe can leach out when heated. The vapors emitted from the heated PVC pipe are now being linked to certain forms of cancer, especially lung cancer."
I like the smell of my new pvc figure, it is like the smell of freshly baked bacon or bread i guess =P, PVC figure or long life? PVC figure then!
Reminds me of a day I opened a figure box.
Me: "You know that knew figure smell?"
-Brother come over, takes a deep breath/smell-
Me: "It's poisonous."
-Brother proceeds to hit me-
the reason i posted this is because my parents "hit" me regarding the smell ^^
As a PHD student of pharmacology this is the first I am hearing about PVC toxicity. I know that many plastic additives such as phthalates are toxic to premature children or the very young because of their small body size and liver insufficiency. This has lead to a lot of changes in how children receive medical care and attempts to limit the use of flexible plastic tubing.
However in reality the paint on the figure is FAR more toxic than the PVC.
Interesting..so perhaps it is the paint that is causing the "smell" instead of pvc? Especially, the kind of smell that does not go away no matter how long it is aired out?
hmm I should sacrifice a figure I don't care about and scrap off the paint and see if the pvc material smells...thought scraping paint releases a lot of poison xD
usually, the smell comes from either a pvc with another compound given its desired flexibility or the paint used on the figure. pvc pipes are rather rigid not to mention brittle since they don't have other things compounded into them. polystyrene is more dangerous than pvc, be careful when sanding or melting model figures.
as a safety factor, always have a well ventilated room, a daily circulation of air input and output is also important.
yeah i open my room window every time i leave the house, and when I'm inside i always leave just a little slit for air to circulate without the room getting cold
keep it in their box, behind glass case, circulate air in your room. If you still die, it's worth it~~
before i kept my figures outside, but then i just had to buy a glass case after all this, and now they are inside and the smell in room is very minimal ^^
It's time to realize we have been cheated. PVC is never safe especially with the polymers put into them.. As they out gas their whole life. During the process of making PVC did you realize dioxin is the most dangerous carcinogen known. They're making our beautiful cute figurines out of poison plastic and there are substitutes but greed and money has produced as we see them.
It is not safe to own them even if you think it doesn't harm you. It slowly poisoning you. In time.
Check out all the studies that have been done. I still say were ripped off.
Thanks for the reply! You sound very convinced, which studies did you read? I'm curious to know!