It’s time of year when parents are out shopping for lunch boxes and notebooks, and a pair of environmental health organization have come out with a guide to PVC-free school supplies.

The groups say many products are made with “toxic plastic," polyvinyl chloride.

They cite a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group that found Americans are exposed to up to 1,200 times more dioxin – a toxic chemical that can leach from PVC – than the Environmental Protection Agency deems safe. The amount of dioxin infants are exposed to is up to 77 times higher than the level EPA says is harmless to the endocrine and immune systems.

That chemical and others in PVC are linked to chronic problems in children that include learning and developmental disabilities asthma, obesity and cancer.

“We strive to make our homes a healthy and safe environment for our children to grow up in.  But what about the eight hours they spend in school each day?” Mike Schade, PVC Campaign Coordinator for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, many school supplies are composed of PVC, the poison plastic.  This plastic can contain a toxic stew of phthalates, lead, cadmium, and organotins—it’s a recipe for disaster.”

Phthalates, which make the plastic flexible, are banned by federal law in toys but not school supplies. Congress is considering legislation called the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 to impose tighter regulation on chemicals in consumer products. 

Some tips from this group and Maryland PIRG include: avoiding backpacks with shiny plastic designs that often contain PVC and may contain lead; using cloth or metal lunchboxes to avoid PVC; using cardboard, fabric-covered or polypropylene binders and avoiding 3-ring binders that often are made of PVC.  

See the full report here.

Baltimore Sun file photo/John Makely