by Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand January 1st, 2002
Blue Vinyl is a 2002 documentary film directed by
Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand. With a lighthearted tone, the film follows
one woman's quest for an environmentally sound cladding for her parents' house
in Merrick, Long Island, New York. It also investigates the many negative
health effects of polyvinyl chloride its production, use and disposal, focusing
on the communities of Lake Charles and Mossville, Louisiana, and Venice, Italy.
Filming for Blue Vinyl began in 1994.
Blue Vinyl teamed up with Working Films to create
the My House is Your House Campaign to turn the film into an organizing tool by
increasing deliberate consumer advocacy and influencing industry change.
The film received scrutiny when the DVD was released
with portions missing from the original broadcast. Lori Sanzone, a woman
diagnosed with angiosarcoma of liver (ASL), a type of cancer associated with
vinyl exposure, had her diagnosis changed to a different disease. Also, after
an out-of-court settlement, an Italian court ended a lawsuit talked about in Blue
Vinyl.