Those who wish to discourage the use of polyvinyl chloride in buildings were dealt a blow by the conclusions of a draft report from the U.S. Green Buildings Council, released Dec. 22. PVC is not "consistently worse than alternative materials on a life-cycle environmental and health basis," says the report.

Consequently, the report concludes, "the current body of knowledge…does not support a credit in the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design rating system for eliminating PVC or any particular material." However, the report points to data gaps across all building materials, especially in relation to human health risks. "If information became available, [it] could alter the result of the analysis," says the report.

The USGBC committee that produced the report has been studying the contentious issue since 2002. The goal was to determine if there is scientific basis for including a credit for reducing PVC use in buildings in the LEED rating system. LEED was created by the Washington, D.C.-based council and has become the de facto standard of "greenness" in the design and construction of buildings.

Supporters of a PVC-reduction credit in LEED say that the material is a source of dioxin. They point to studies that suggest a link between dioxin exposure and cancer, as well as reproductive and developmental defects. The opposition counters by saying PVC is more durable than alternatives and accounts for only 1% of dioxin production.

The plastics industry is praising the committee findings. "Our preliminary sense is that the task group took a comprehensive and scientific approach," says Tim Burns, president of the Vinyl Institute, Arlington, Va.

Others are critical. "It favors inertia," says Bill Walsh, national coordinator for Healthy Building Network, Washington, D.C. "It favors the least environmentally responsible companies at the expense of industry leaders and innovators," he says.

The public has the opportunity to comment on the report until Feb. 15. "The responses will be assimilated into the draft as appropriate," says Nigel Howard, USGBC vice president. Although in its current form, the report does not recommend changes to LEED, the responses could result in revisions to the rating system, he says. "We don't know what we will get back in public consultation."

To view the report and to comment on it, go to: http://www.usgbc.org/News/usgbcnews_details.asp?ID=1224