Polyvinylchloride flooring

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) Piping, floor tile, clothing 5.6 Polystyrene (Styrofoam)Containers, heat insulators2.9 Styrene-butadiene Tires, fibers 2.0... 

Another important addition polymer is polyvinylchloride (PVC), which is tough and easily molded. Floor tiles, shower curtains, and pipes are most often made of PVC, shown in Figure 12.30. The addition polymer polyvinylidene chloride (trade name Saran), shown in Figure 12.31, is used as plastic wrap for food. The large chlorine atoms in this polymer help it stick to surfaces such as glass by dipole—induced dipole attractions, as we saw in Section 7.1. 

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) is a hard, amorphous polymer which softens at about 85 °C. Also in PVC rubbers are sometimes added in order to improve the impact strength. The main applications of PVC are pipes, gutters, front panels of buildings, cables, bottles, floor tiles. A much softer and more flexible material is obtained by blending with plasticizers soft or plasticized PVC is being used in artificial leather, tubes and hoses, footwear, films, etc. 

Polyethylene is the most widespread polymer it is used in bags, containers, and wire insulation. Polyvinylchloride is used in the production of containers, plumbing accessories, synthetic leather, and floor tiles, and polypropylene is applied in the fabrication of rugs and containers [196],... 

Recently, a matched case-control study in a cohort of 3754 newborns in Oslo, Norway, showed an increased risk for bronchial obstraction in children living in apartments with high occurrence of plasticized polyvinylchloride, PVC, floorings. Many other factors such as ventilation, tobacco smoking and crowdedness (square meters per occupant) were included in the study. As the study showed a correlation between the risk of developing asthma and exposure to PVC floors, the authors suggested that the plasticizers, which mairdy consisted of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, DEHP, had adjuvant effect. ... 

---