Health effects of vinyl chloride.

Vinyl chloride is a basic chemical for plastics manufacturing and has been used as an anesthetic agent. Vinyl chloride's previously unknown carcinogenic capability appears to be related to the body's ability to convert it from a non-toxic or minimally toxic chemical to a toxic and, with prolonged exposure, cancer-forming agent. Early exposure in animals causes body cells to make adaptive changes which may prepare them for malignant transformation and appear to precede evidence of morphological injury. These findings appear to occur before a low-grade chemical injury occurs. Vinyl chloride chemical injury in man appears to follow the same pattern. Present clinical data in humans now demonstrate evidence of pre-cancer injury and cancer transformation of various types of cells in different organs of the body. Manifestations of pre-cancerous injury to organs other than the liver (such as the lung, heart, spleen, brain and lymphatic system) may also be occurring and require further investigation. Early detection of these pre-cancerous chemical injuries requires a prospective ongoing system of surveillance and the development of diagnostic methods which can identify specific causal agents in the presence of non-specific injury. Such a systematic approach has been developed and is now in operation. Its initial achievements appear to be the foundation for future success in controlling the health effects of industrial chemicals.