PVC is perfectly safe, and so are the 'traditional' (and very effective) phthalate-based softening agents (plasticisers). Life is too short to worry about what could potentially cause health issues. Many items we come into contact with or consume on a regular basis contain chemical compounds that are SUSPECTED carcinogens. Even natural or plant-derived foodstuffs. For example, peanut butter contains trace amounts of aflatoxin- a naturally occurring chemical compound and a suspected carcinogen. This won't stop me from enjoying my peanut butter sandwiches, though! Will I develop cancer years down the line from any miniscule amounts of aflatoxin I might ingest in my peanut butter sandwiches? I very much doubt it! Are we to enclose ourselves in hermetically sealed bubbles (hopefully made from PVC, lol!) to protect ourselves from the dangers and hazards associated with everyday life?Bill_P wrote:I know exactly what you're talking about, but the Vista big bubble umbrella is made of the thicker, softer plastic and not the thin "paper"-like material you describe. I also have a golf-sized bubble umbrella from Elite Rain, which is even larger in diameter but it's made of the thinner material (though not as thin as EVA - ooh, I hate that stuff! Who the hell thought it would be ok to make rainwear & umbrellas out of plastic that's as thin as grocery bags?) and doesn't feel as durable, so it doesn't get much use.
I hate the fact that PVC has gotten a bad rap as a potential carcinogen, so now manufacturers of rainwear & umbrellas (other than PVC-U-LIKE) can't run away fast enough from it. Hope they don't go after polyurethane any time soon.
Conceivably, exposure to SUSPECTED carcinogens from PVC or phthalate plasticisers would be increased if the substance was being ingested (e.g. by sucking or licking) on a regular basis, so I think it was a wise move to ban phthalates from child's toys, but the health and safety killjoys should leave us adults alone to expose ourselves to as much plasticised PVC as we so desire. It hasn't done me any harm, and I have been in bodily contact with plasticised PVC for as long as I can remember.