Distribution coefficient (K-s) and diffusivity [diffusion coefficient (D)] values for 19 nonvolatile solutes were previously reported for three ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers. In this article, the interaction properties of these solutes are compared with their octanol/water partition coefficient (P-o/w) values. Adequate linear log/log correlations between K-s and P-o/w are obtained for all three copolymers, once the effect of the solution pH on solute speciation is taken into account. The resultant correlations are similar for all three copolymers, suggesting that they share a common interaction mechanism. Inverse correlations between log D and log P-o/w are established for all three materials. Although the relationship between log D and log P-o/w is linear for the EVA polymers, the scatter in the poly(vinyl acetate) data is sufficiently large that a linear relationship cannot be unilaterally established. The utility of such a model in terms of assessing the potential interaction between a plastic container and its contained contents is demonstrated. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.