Based on the findings from our Plumbing Specification Guide, this AIA course explains how the characteristics of materials used for drinking water, wastewater, and fire-suppression systems impact the health, safety, and sustainability of buildings. eligible for HSW credit. … more
Engineers and architects use plastic pipe for many critical systems – including drain, waste, and vent (DWV), water distribution, fire suppression sprinklers, and other applications – across a wide variety of building types. These systems are installed throughout structures, making it essential to understand how they will perform during fire incidents. This report examines fire safety aspects of plastic piping materials, including one of the most commonly used, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), through a review of relevant research… more
Part 2 of our recap of the presentation & discussions at the BSS conference. We focus on fire safety issues like combustibility, toxic releases, & firestopping. … more
Contractors, engineers, & manufacturers raised great questions after our presentation to the invite-only BSS Conference at Wembley Stadium in London. We focused on two important issues that don’t always get the focus they deserve: sustainability & fire safety… more
While it may be easy to produce, plastic building materials represent the antithesis of circularity and sustainability. Companies engineer these materials to be flexible, lightweight, and cheap to produce. They are in no way designed to be recycled, however. … more
Recent contamination of water systems by jet fuel leaking from the Navy’s Red Hill fuel storage facility in Hawaii illustrates again the importance of safe drinking water and of the piping that delivers it.
Many questions remain about this incident, including one that has been largely ignored to date: How will the Navy and local officials repair or replace pipes impacted by chemicals released into the system… more
The Lie of Plastic Recycling Bloomberg investigative reporter Kit Chellel put two trackers inside pieces of plastic and deposited them in recycling bins at 3 Tesco locations in the UK. The linked video provides a fascinating look inside a “hidden ecosystem that very few people have oversight of… dirty smelly places to be sorted and … more
Limiting Legionella in Building Water Systems New Techniques to Gauge & Limit Risk Cases of Legionnaires disease (a form of pneumonia) and Pontiac fever (a flu-like illness) continue to increase, according to CDC research published in March 2022. Piping systems represent a significant source of risk, as Legionella bacteria can grow in the pipes of … more
Plastic Particles Found in Human Blood A Dutch team from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has published a study showing plastic particles can enter and circulate in human bloodstreams. The researchers found plastics in 77% of those tested, including polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS), among others. The paper, “Discovery and quantification of plastic particle … more
By several measures, the answer is YES. … more