Minimize plastic in our lives: Don't convey it in our water

Tina Katsanos

About half of the 300 million tons of plastic made worldwide each year become single-use plastics such as bags, straws, utensils, and other items that we thoughtlessly throw in the trash. 

But what about the other half?

If you are part of Charlotte Water’s distribution system, then some of that plastic is being used to convey your drinking water. The utility acknowledges that approximately half of the pipes in their system are plastic PVC pipes.

The main thing you should know about PVC is that it is made from toxic chemicals. In fact, one of those chemicals – vinyl chloride – is currently under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Toxic Substances Control Act. The agency recently announced that it was moving vinyl chloride to the next phase of this process during which it will be rigorously studied to determine the level of harm to humans and the environment. 

If the EPA decides that the potential harm is significant enough, it could mandate limitations on its use or even order the chemical to be phased out.

While no one can predict what action the EPA will take, the decision to include vinyl chloride was made after thorough discussion inside the agency. They were compelled to act after the February 2023 derailment of a chemical bomb-train in southeastern Ohio. Communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania were impacted after rail cars carrying vinyl chloride were set on fire, which resulted in a massive black cloud of chemical smoke.

The long-term health effects from that disaster will haunt East Palestine, Ohio, for years to come. We should heed the warning that the chemicals used to manufacture our water pipes are deadly.

And that deadly substance is leaching PVC microplastics into our water and throughout our entire environment. PVC has been around for more than one hundred years, first gaining popularity with the burgeoning tire industry that used it as an additive to harden rubber. 

Since then, there has been an explosion in its uses – and an implosion in what it is doing to our bodies. As PVC degrades, it breaks down into an overwhelming volume of microscopic particles that infest every aspect of our lives. Researchers are finding microplastics in the Arctic as well as in human kidneys, livers,  blood systems, and brains.   

We must also look at this plastics problem from an environmental justice lens. Cumulative environmental health impacts disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. BIPOC people are more likely to live in a sacrifice zone like Cancer Alley – an 85-mile petrochemical corridor from Louisiana to Texas. You can guess the reason for the name Cancer Alley. 

Sacrifice zones are areas where contamination and pollution levels are so elevated that petrochemical industries are willing to sacrifice human lives just to turn a profit. Contamination from plastic PVC pipes like those manufactured by Formosa in Baton Rouge add an additional layer of pollutants that will harm the health of vulnerable people that lack access to quality healthcare. 

In addition, most PVC manufacturing plants and PVC disposal sites are located disproportionately in BIPOC communities. The manufacture and disposal of the pipes releases cancer causing chemicals that and nearby residents breathe this in. Here is how you can begin to understand what is meant by environmental racism.

If we are serious about minimizing plastic in our lives, we should start with the most important thing – clean, safe drinking water – and demand accountability from community leaders. Join me in asking Charlotte Water to stop using plastic PVC pipes in their system.

Tina Katsanos is co-chair of Climate Reality Project Charlotte-Metro area.

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