This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions about vinyl chloride. For more information, you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present.

Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas. It burns easily and it is not stable at high temperatures. It has a mild, sweet odor. It is a manufactured substance that does not occur naturally. It can be formed when other substances such as trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene are broken down. Vinyl chloride is used to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC). PVC is used to make a variety of plastic products, including pipes, wire and cable coatings, and packaging materials.

Vinyl chloride is also known as chloroethene, chloroethylene, and ethylene monochloride.

• Liquid vinyl chloride evaporates easily. Vinyl chloride in water or soil evaporates rapidly if it is near the surface.
• Vinyl chloride in the air breaks down in a few days to other substances, some of which can be harmful.
• Small amounts of vinyl chloride can dissolve in water.
• Vinyl chloride is unlikely to build up in plants or animals that you might eat.

• Breathing vinyl chloride that has been released from plastics industries, hazardous waste sites, and landfills.
• Breathing vinyl chloride in air or during contact with your skin or eyes in the workplace.
• Drinking water from contaminated wells.

Breathing high levels of vinyl chloride can cause you to feel dizzy or sleepy. Breathing very high levels can cause you to pass out, and breathing extremely high levels can cause death.

Some people who have breathed vinyl chloride for several years have changes in the structure of their livers. People are more likely to develop these changes if they breathe high levels of vinyl chloride. Some people who work with vinyl chloride have nerve damage and develop immune reactions. The lowest levels that produce liver changes, nerve damage, and immune reaction in people are not known. Some workers exposed to very high levels of vinyl chloride have problems with the blood flow in their hands. Their fingers turn white and hurt when they go into the cold.

The effects of drinking high levels of vinyl chloride are unknown. If you spill vinyl chloride on your skin, it will cause numbness, redness, and blisters.

Animal studies have shown that long-term exposure to vinyl chloride can damage the sperm and testes.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen. Studies in workers who have breathed vinyl chloride over many years showed an increased risk of liver cancer; brain cancer, lung cancer, and some cancer of the blood have also been observed in workers.

It has not been proven that vinyl chloride causes birth defects in humans, but studies in animals suggest that vinyl chloride might affect growth and development. Animal studies also suggest that infants and young children might be more susceptible than adults to vinyl chloride-induced cancer.

Tobacco smoke contains low levels of vinyl chloride, so limiting your family's exposure to cigarette or cigar smoke may help reduce their exposure to vinyl chloride.

The results of several tests can sometimes show if you have been exposed to vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride can be measured in your breath, but the test must be done shortly after exposure. This is not helpful for measuring very low levels of vinyl chloride. The amount of the major breakdown product of vinyl chloride, thiodiglycolic acid, in the urine may give some information about exposure. However, this test must be done shortly after exposure and does not reliably indicate the level of exposure.

Vinyl chloride can bind to genetic material in your body. The amount of this binding can be measured by sampling your blood and other tissues. This measurement will give information about whether you have been exposed to vinyl chloride, but it is not sensitive enough to determine the effects on the genetic material resulting from exposure. These tests are not available at most doctors' offices, but can be done at special laboratories.

Vinyl chloride is regulated in drinking water, food, and air. The EPA requires that the amount of vinyl chloride in drinking water not exceed 0.002 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of water.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit of 1 part vinyl chloride per 1 million parts of air (1 ppm) in the workplace.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the vinyl chloride content of various plastics. These include plastics that carry liquids and plastics that contact food. The limits for vinyl chloride content vary depending on the nature of the plastic and its use.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1997. Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents. Volume III – Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures: Vinyl Chloride. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2004. Toxicological Profile for Vinyl Chloride (Draft for Public Comment). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.

ATSDR can tell you where to find occupational and environmental health clinics. Their specialists can recognize, evaluate, and treat illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances. You can also contact your community or state health or environmental quality department if you have any more questions or concerns.

For more information, contact:

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 1-888-42-ATSDR (1-888-422-8737)
FAX:   (770)-488-4178
Email: ATSDRIC@cdc.gov