I have received the following email message from the Vinyl Industry (Australia)
They dispute some of our statements. I am happy to discuss those

From: <Sophi.MacMillan@vinyl.org.au>
Subject: The Estrogen Hypothesis of Obesity
Date: 17 June 2014 14:57:17 ACST
To: <maciej.henneberg@adelaide.edu.au>
Cc: <paul.bontinck@vinyl.org.au>

Dear Marciej
I have just read your interesting article, The Estrogen Hypothesis of Obesity on http://www.plosone.org.

As the peak association for the PVC industry in Australia, the Vinyl Council has had a long interest in the environmental and health impacts of PVC products and in particular, has closely followed the debate and development of scientific knowledge around phthalates. I found your research therefore of great interest; however, we would like to raise with you what we believe is very misleading comments regarding PVC in the context of your research.

Your paper states:
"Another well-established source of xenoestrogen is polyvinyl chloride, known as PVC [22]. This product is in prominent use in most wealthy countries with widespread applications, from plastic medical devices to irrigative piping [23]–[24]."

We assume that your reference to xenoestrogens here is related to the possible use of phthalate plasticisers, which impart flexibility to the otherwise rigid polymer. Some - and we emphasise, some - phthalate compounds are suspected of being endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) but it is widely believed this effect is through mechanisms related to the male hormone, androgen, not the female hormone. The phthalates suspected of being EDCs are broadly considered to be those with transitional length carbon backbones of 4-6 carbon molecules. Other phthalate compounds commonly used as plasticisers with longer carbon-backbones and higher molecular weight are NOT considered to be endocrine disruptors.

The reference given in your paper [22] is for an on-line magazine article which makes incorrect statements about PVC, namely:
It claims incorrectly that PVC cling-wrap contains "several types of xenoestrogens and other endocrine disruptors" which is highly unlikely. While some PVC cling wrap for commercial use for non-fatty foods may contain phthalate plasticiser, the industry generally avoided such plasticisers for retail cling-wrap (not usually PVC anyway) or commercial films used for meat and diary products. We are not aware of any other additives in PVC films that are considered to be xenoestrogens or EDCs, thus this statement is a gross exaggeration.
It states "PVC can leach out" which is completely false and presumably a journalistic error.
In view of the above, the on-line magazine article is not a reliable source of information.

Your paper then refers to the widespread applications of PVC, "from plastic medical devices to irrigative piping" and later in the article, it refers to "vast piping networks, composed of PVC". The article implies that PVC pipe could be a source of xenoestrogens in the water supplies and a potential exposure pathway for consumers. What is not made clear is that worldwide, more PVC is consumed in unplasticised PVC products, such as pipe and profiles which do not contain any known xenoestrogens and no phthalate plasticisers. The major plasticised (flexible) PVC applications include vinyl flooring, roofing membranes, cable insulation & sheathing, flexible sheet etc. Consumers may potentially be exposed to minute amounts of phthalates migrating from these products under very specific conditions but most manufacturers moved away from low molecular weight phthalate plasticisers some years ago.

Flexible PVC packaging and medical products where more direct exposure to phthalates could occur, constitute a small proportion of total PVC consumed.

The suggestion that PVC pipe (or other rigid PVC products) could be exposing consumers to xenoestrogens should be removed.

We have a wealth of information on phthalates and a library of scientific studies related to their potential health and environmental effects. We would be happy to make information available to you and your colleagues. NICNAS has also been completing comprehensive risk assessments on many of the phthalates, focused on what they consider to be the most sensitive end consumer exposures - PVC toys and childcare articles and cosmetics. The finalised assessments of several of the transitional and one or two high molecular weight phthalates are available on their website.

In view of the above, we would like to see some corrections made to your paper concerning the implication of PVC products in your hypothesis. We would also welcome further discussion about this important area of research.

We look forward to your response.
regards

Sophi MacMillan
Sophi MacMillan - Chief Executive | Vinyl Council of Australia | Phone: +61 3 9368 4856 | Mobile: +61 418 380 309 |
E-mail: sophi.macmillan@vinyl.org.au
Address: 65 Leakes Road, Laverton North, Victoria 3026 Australia
Advancing a sustainable PVC industry in Australia
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