alpha-Tocopherol was compared with a commercial phenolic antioxidant (Irganox 1076) as a long-term and process antioxidant in film-blown and compression-molded linear low-density polyethylene. The antioxiclant function of alpha-tocopherol was high in the film-blown material, especially in the processing, according to oxygen induction time measurements with differential scanning calorimetry. The residual content of alpha-tocopherol after processing, determined with chromatographic techniques, was less than that of the commercial phenolic antioxidant in both the film-blown and compression-molded materials. The process stabilizing efficiency was nevertheless higher for the material containing alpha-tocopherol. During the long-term stabilization, the efficiency of alpha-tocopherol was less than that of the commercial phenolic stabilizer Irganox 1076 in the thin films, according to chemiluminescence and infrared measurements. The long-term efficiency in the compression-molded samples stabilized with alpha-tocopherol or Irganox 1076 was equally good because of the low loss of both alpha-tocopherol and Irganox 1076 from the thicker films. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.