Is PVC volatile and dangerous to be used as flooring?
No. PVC, Polyvinyl chloride, is naturally flame retardant. It is non-toxic and is used extensively in plumbing. There are no plasticizers in plumbing PVC. ADDITIVES are another story: Many vinyl products contain additional chemicals to change the chemical consistency of the product. Some of these additional chemicals called additives can leach out of vinyl products. Plasticizers that must be added to make PVC flexible have been an additive of particular concern because of toxicity. Most US companies have voluntarily stopped manufacturing PVC toys with DEHP (a plasticizer) and in 2003 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) denied a petition for a ban on PVC toys made with an alternative plasticizer, DINP (diisononyl phthalate). I would think that flooring would be of far less concern for toxicity than children’s toys. .
