未來消費者將沒有辦法在美國二大百貨連鎖公司Sears和Kmart的架上找到用聚氯乙烯、PVC和塑膠作成的玩具和其他產品。
美國百貨連鎖公司席爾斯（Sears, Roebuck and Co）與Kmart兩大公司合併後改名為Sears Holdings，於12日表示公司目前正致力於減少，並且要逐步淘汰在包裝或銷售上對PVC的使用，同時也鼓勵商家在銷售時註明「不含PVC」的標誌。
PVC含有鉛的成分，可能會損害腦神經系統，造成行為上、學習上以及發展上的障礙，目前在廣泛的PVC消費產品上已有進行相關的含鉛測試，包括玩具、餐盒、奶嘴、珠寶、園藝水管、百葉窗、聖誕樹和電子用品等。
有些PVC則可能含有鄰苯二甲酸鹽（phthalates），這是一種用來軟化塑料的化學原料。經常暴露於鄰苯二甲酸鹽可能會造成早產，女性青春期提早，影響男性精蟲品質或精蟲減少，損害生殖器和男性荷爾蒙減少等問題。
In the future, Sears and Kmart shoppers will not find toys and other products made of polyvinyl chloride, PVC, plastic on the shelves.
Sears Holdings, the publicly traded parent of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., said Wednesday that the company is working to reduce and phase out PVC in its packaging and merchandise and encouraging vendors to label their PVC-free merchandise.
PVC contains lead, which can damage the brain and nervous system and cause behavior, learning and developmental disabilities. Testing has detected lead in a broad range of PVC consumer products including toys, lunchboxes, baby bibs, jewelry, garden hoses, mini blinds, Christmas trees, and electronics.
Some PVC contains phthalates, a family of chemicals used as softeners. Exposure to phthalates has been linked with premature births, early puberty in girls, impaired sperm quality and sperm damage in men, genital defects, and reduced testosterone production in boys.
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