Let’s get Harmful Chemicals Out of IV Bags and Tubing: oh wait safe options already exist ( but arent being used)

If you or a loved one has ever visited an ER, stayed at a hospital or had IV therapy ( in other words the great majority of people!), today I am addressing an unwanted ( and unknown to most) exposure you will have had to some pretty bad chemicals…

• The problem with most iv bags

• A promising new law that should bring some changes … by the year 2030

• AND a safer alternative that exists TODAY

The problem:

➡️70% of IV bags and tubes are made of polyvinyl chloride with the phthalate DEHP used as An additive

➡️Medical IVs can contain anywhere between 30% to 80 % phthalate chemicals!

➡️these chemicals leach into patients’ bodies, a particularly concern since ivs are often used in vulnerable populations like newborns in intensive care, cancer patients and other immuno compromised individuals etc.

➡️ Most doctors have no idea that these toxic chemicals are leaching out of the ivs and into their vulnerable patients… nor that there are better alternatives available!

DEHP is concerning because

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers DEHP a probable human carcinogen. DEHP has been linked to breast, liver, lung, and testicular cancer

• DEHP can harm the male reproductive system, and exposure during pregnancy may affect the development of the child

• DEHP exposure has been linked to kidney damage similar to that seen in long-term dialysis patients

• Japan banned DEHP from toys and food-handling gloves in 2001; Europe banned it from toys and childcare articles in 2007, and the U.S. followed in 2008.

22 years ago, the US Food and Drug Administration warned doctors that DEHP can escape from PVC in medical devices and pose specific risks to developing babies and children, especially boys. Unfortunately, theFDA didn’t step in to stop it or recommend alternatives, and so phthalate based PVC iv bags have continued to be used.

Finally last month ( September 2024) a new law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in California that will make IV bags much less toxic.

By 2030, under the new law, IV supplies in the state can no longer contain Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP).

Some companies, including Kaiser Permanente have already stopped using toxic phthalate containing ivs - so the hope is that, since the law wont go into effect until 2030, healthcare institutions nationwide will become aware of the problem and make this switch immediately to eliminate DEHP exposures

The European Union already has a similar ban with a 2030 deadline, pushed back last year from an original 2025 target.

Alternatives?

The good news? Alternatives exist!

1. The alternatives to PVC with DEHP are polyolefins, made from either polypropylene or polyethylene. These reduce the number of chemicals of concern from 30 percent to zero, according to Clean Production Action.

2. Alternative 2 is PVC with a plasticizer other than DEHP. I personally do not recommend these as alternative. Pete’s have found contain other issues.

IV bag maker B. Braun of Melsungen, Germany; ICU Medical of San Clemente, California; and Fresenius-Kabi of Bad Homburg, Germany have all phased out PVC IN THEIR IV BAGS

The bad news? Approximately 60-70% of IV bags and tubes used in California and nationwide are made with DEHP- and this law is year away before being implemented.

What can you do?

Send this ( including the list of safer alternatives) to any doctor or iv center  you know and try to get them to order pvc free alternatives!

Sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1773224723000126

https://www.bcpp.org/toxic-free-iv/

https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/emerging/docs/scenihr_o_047.pdf