Vinyl and LPs - Analogue Music Goodness

Having experienced close family members dying very painfully and horrifically to cancer, I tend to take the view of minimizing exposure to cancer inducing sources if it is at all reasonable. I agree that we live in environments that expose us to toxins, but I think of the daily inevitable exposure as a collective baseline, and I try to eliminate avoidable sources adding to that baseline.

Even if not being played often, simple exposure to air seems to be the biggest factor to outgassing, and I store my records in my bedroom, which means if not totally sealed in an airtight environment, I'm constantly exposing myself to that outgassing. Paper sleeves (which many, if not most of my collection use) leave them exposed to air, and many of the plastic sleeves have a hole in them near the label. Plastic sleeves do not necessarily ensure it cannot expose itself to new air, as that depends on the type of plastic as well.

Even with a good plastic that does act as a good barrier, what about the edges of the sleeve where the records may still be exposed? And do I have to ensure the records are pressed against each other to ensure there's no air gaps?

Ultimately I'd likely have to buy new sleeves that are designed to be fully airtight to stop exposing myself, which is more plastic waste. At that point, especially since I rarely use them, don't have too much emotional connection with them, and can never prevent it from gassing me while actually being used, the cost to benefit ratio just doesn't make sense to continue using the medium at all for me personally.

I would never throw them away (as the video mentions, they're too toxic even for the landfill), so I'll likely sell them on to someone who truly doesn't mind their risks, or has a better method of storage.

I certainly will cease buying new manufacture records so as not add to more toxic waste being produced. I think a mass boycott would result in a replacement substance being developed quickly, so hopefully that happens someday.