Stop Toxic IV Bags and Tubing

90% of hospital patients receive IV therapy. But did you know that 70% of IV bags contain DEHP, a toxic chemical linked to breast, liver, lung, and testicular cancer and reproductive harm?

Do you think IV bags and tubing should be toxic-free?

In hospitals across the country, Americans may be unknowingly receiving harmful treatments through intravenous (IV) bags and tubing. Over 90% of U.S. hospital patients receive IV therapy or infusion each year. They offer a simple and quickly accessible delivery route for medicine, fluids, and nutrition for the millions of patients who receive IVs.

However, many patients and practitioners don’t know that these mainstay medical devices may also pose significant health risks. Most IV bags and tubes are made with Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which requires a plasticizer like Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) to make the plastic soft and flexible.

IV page pregnant woman

“Health care providers should not have to be concerned that the medical device being used to treat their patients’ illness might be making them sicker or contributing to an even worse health condition.”

– Dr. Lisa Bailey, MD, 40-year veteran breast cancer surgeon

IV page baby

DEHP is a highly toxic phthalate that leaches out of plastic IV bags and tubing into the medicine and fluids being transfused into a patient. It’s an endocrine disrupting compound, linked to a range of serious health concerns, including breast cancer, liver and lung cancer, and developmental and reproductive harm. It also promotes drug resistance, interferes with chemotherapy treatment, and makes breast cancer cells ‘immortal.’

Despite these well-documented risks, approximately 70% of IV bags and tubing sold in California and the U.S. are made from DEHP and PVC.

Everyone is affected, but especially vulnerable groups like NICU babies, pregnant women, and cancer patients.

PVC and DEHP are dangerous to our health and to the environment, and it goes without saying that toxic chemicals should not be used in IV bags or tubing.

The California Toxic-Free Medical Devices Act (AB 2300-Wilson)

The good news is that DEHP-free options are available and cost-effective. Some leading California health systems, such as Kaiser Permanente and City of Hope, made the switch to DEHP-free alternatives years ago—saving both lives and money.

However, not everyone’s on board with this much-needed change.

The powerful chemical and vinyl industries are trying to preserve their market share of PVC and DEHP. They are lobbying against the Toxic-Free Medical Devices Act (AB 2300), a bill co-sponsored by BCPP, the California Black Health Network and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, CA District IX, which would ban the manufacture, sale, and use of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) in IV bags and tubing in California.

Chemicals known to cause cancer should not be used in IVs. Help us put patient health above industry profits by securing passage of AB 2300!

Endorsing Organizations

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Supporters
  • Breast Cancer Prevention Partners
  • California Black Health Network
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, CA District IX
  • B. Braun Medical Inc.
  • Common Spirit
  • Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)
  • Clean Water Action
  • The Last Beach Cleanup
  • San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • Keep A Breast
  • California Nurses for Environmental Health & Justice
  • CleanEarth4Kids
  • Plastic Pollution Coalition
  • Courage California
  • Access Reproductive Justice
  • Clean Production Action
  • Defend Our Health
  • Educate Advocate
  • Public Health Advocates
  • Center for Environmental Health
  • Science and Environmental Health Network
  • National Association of Environmental Medicine
  • MADE SAFE
  • Young Invincibles
  • Buen Vecino
  • Northern California Center for Well-Being
  • National Stewardship Action Council
  • Women’s Voice’s for the Earth
  • Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
  • Healthy Contra Costa
  • Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
  • Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
  • Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
  • California Health Coalition Advocacy
  • PRC & Black Leadership Council
  • California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG)
  • Health Equity for African American’s League (HEAAL)
  • California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
  • Urban Strategies Council
  • National Union of Healthcare Workers
  • Health Care Without Harm
  • A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
  • Fresnenius-Kabi
  • WE ACT for Environmental Justice

“While the California ban wouldn’t go into effect for several years, there’s no reason for hospitals to delay taking action sooner. Switching to DEHP-free IV bags and tubing is a no-brainer way to prevent unnecessary harm to patients. We urge hospitals across the country to make this shift ASAP, whether it’s the law or not.”

– Janet Nudelman, Senior Director of Program & Policy at BCPP

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