Are Plastic Pipes Safe? Piping material within a building plays a more critical role in safety than one might think, and homeowners, building owners, and contractors need to be aware of how… more
No Paradise: Water Contamination Demonstrates Importance of Safe Piping After the tragic Camp Fire in Paradise, California, the region’s drinking water became contaminated when heat-damaged plastic pipes leached chemicals into the water… more
Study: In Fires, Toxic Smoke from Plastic Can Doom Occupants By Kevin O’Connor The construction industry goes to great lengths to reduce the likelihood of fires, designing for safety and implementing extensiv… more
Humans Consume 39,000-52,000 Microplastics a Year Health Effects May Include Reproductive and Digestive Issues The rising concern around microplastics’ effect on water quality and human health has accelerated after a new study… more
How Leaching Affects Water Quality When selecting pipes for drinking water systems, it’s critical to understand and evaluate the effect materials can have on water quality and human health. Clean water can… more
Impacts of Pipe Leaching on Water Chemical interactions between water and piping materials — typically oxidation — and the principles of osmosis mean all piping materials leach substances into water to som… more
Drinking Water and Plumbing After the Camp Fire By Julie Jenks, active volunteer at the Camp Fire Zone Project and Biology Instructor at Butte College About the Event Experts in plumbing and… more
Codes Must be Responsive to Current and Future Hazards By Jay Peters, Codes & Standards International In one of my recent articles, “Building Products, They Comply with Code But Are They Safe,”… more
Plumbing and Firefighting Associations Call for Plastic Piping Ban The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the United Association of Plumbers, Fitters, Welders and HVAC Service Techs (UA) recently called for… more
How Do Microplastics Enter the Water Supply? Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than five millimeters in length and represent a serious threat to the safety of our water. Microplastics releas… more
Are Copper Pipes Safe? When considering piping options, a material’s safety should be a primary consideration along with reliability, durability and other performance factors. As a long-standing option for piping, it’s important… more
Study: Majority of Leached Substances Are Carcinogenic, Toxic, or Unregulated A recent study from Gradient identified 163 substances that leach from plastic piping systems into potable water. These include proven carcinogens and… more
Water Quality and the Global Microplastic Crisis The use of plastic piping has become commonplace, yet there is mounting evidence that plastic is directly damaging water quality. Over the past few years,… more
Fires Melt Plastic Pipes and Release Carcinogens into Water Supplies As fires like the devastating Camp Fire occur nationwide, water quality crises have become part of the aftermath. In recent years wildfires… more
4 Ways Contaminants Penetrate a Building’s Water Supply In North America, the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) hydrocarbon group represents a main source of groundwater contamination. Its ability to permeate many… more
Disinfectants Cause Odorous Chemicals to Leach from Plastic Piping Piping and distribution systems can have a direct effect on the taste, odor and quality of drinking water. While North America’s water supply… more
The Rise and Fall of Lead Piping: A Brief History Lead piping was used in almost every major U.S. city for many plumbing applications in 1900, including to transport drinking water. Millions of lead… more
Plastic Leaching into Water Systems: A Problem for Green Buildings? Interest in sustainably designed buildings continues to grow among building owners and facility managers. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by t… more
Study Highlights Limited Environmental Standards for Leachable Substances into Drinking Water A new study conducted by Gradient, an environmental and risk sciences consulting firm, examined the chemical composition of six commonly used… more
New Video Highlights Health Risks Associated with Piping Materials Plastic piping is a cheap option for drinking water systems. But does value engineering justify taking a health risk? While there are many… more