PVC Pipe Association/Industry

Founded in 1971 as a non-profit organization, the 

Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association is the authoritative 

source of information on PVC pipe. It serves the 

engineering, regulatory, public health and 

standardization communities.

Introduced in North America in 1951, corrosionproof PVC piping offers a superior, proven and truly 

sustainable solution for underground infrastructure, 

helping municipalities spend smarter and giving 

taxpayers the best return on their dollar.

The PVC pipe industry contributes in excess of 

$14 billion annually to the US economy and supports 

over 25,000 jobs. With over two million miles in 

service, PVC pipe is the product of choice for buried 

water, sewer, drainage and irrigation infrastructure.
PVC Pipe: Safe and Beneficial to Public Health

PVC pipe is one of the safest and most tested 

materials used in North America. For over 60 years, 

every aspect of its production, use and disposal has 

been evaluated and approved by government and 

independent certification and testing agencies.

It meets or exceeds all required health and safety 

standards and regulations governed by the U.S. and 

Canadian Safe Drinking Water Acts and other 

international statutes. Its use is monitored by 

independent agencies like NSF International – and 

government bodies like the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) ensure its safety through 

mandatory regular testing.

Additionally, organizations like the U.S. Food and 

Drug Administration and Consumer Product Safety 

Commission have confirmed that PVC is a safe 

product.
Clean and Safe

PVC is approved for use around the world in 

water distribution and transmission, consumer 

products and medical applications. It is so safe that it 

is used for intravenous medical tubing, and it is the 

pipe of choice for ecologically sensitive environments 

like salt water aquariums, which must use the most 

inert and safest pipe materials available.

Its smooth, non-corrosive surface stays clean 

even after decades of use, unlike that of iron pipe 

which suffers from tuberculation, a form of internal 

corrosion and bio-film contamination which can be a 

breeding ground for bacteria.

Over 40,000 North American water utilities use 

PVC pipe today and some 10 million quality control 

tests have been conducted on water carried through 

PVC pipe since it was introduced in North America 

and around the world. All of them confirm the product 

is safe and beneficial to public health.
The Corrosion Crisis

Corrosion is the leading cause of the water-main 

break epidemic in North America, estimated at some 

300,000 breaks annually. Moreover, according to a 

2002 congressional study, it’s a drag on the economy, 

costing U.S. drinking water and wastewater systems 

over $50.7 billion annually, or more than $1 trillion 

dollars over the next twenty years. 

Today’s corrosion crisis is due to the materials 

used in America’s underground pipe networks over 

the last 100 years. At first, cast iron was used, with 

ductile iron gradually replacing it as the material of 

choice. Both now suffer from the ravages of corrosion. 

Moreover, the burden of old technology materials is 

not limited to the cost of repairing and replacing failed 

pipelines. It includes the cost of losing treated water 

from leaking systems. All told, leaking pipes lose 

some 2.6 trillion gallons of drinking water every year, 

or 17 percent of all water pumped in the United 

States. 
Sustainable and Corrosion-Proof

The solution to these problems begins with 

sustainability, durability and corrosion resistance, all 

attributes of PVC pipe. Increased durability means 

fewer leaks, better water conservation and lower 

costs.

PVC pipe has been celebrated by Engineering 

News Record as one of the top 20 engineering 

advancements of the last 125 years. A study by the 

American Water Works Association Research 

Foundation recently quantified its life expectancy at 

more than 110 years. 

Furthermore, PVC pipe is more efficient to 

manufacture, taking four times less energy to make 

than concrete pressure pipe, and half that used for 

iron pipe. PVC’s light weight reduces transportation 

and installation costs, yielding additional greenhouse 

gas reductions. It is also totally recyclable, though 

most of it has yet to enter the recycling stream given 

its great durability. 
As well, PVC pipe’s ultra-smooth surface reduces 

pumping costs and its leak-free joints eliminate water 

loss – which can be up to 40 percent in some oldtechnology and corrosion-prone piping networks. 

For municipal officials, PVC’s most attractive 

feature is perhaps its cost-effectiveness. Annual 

savings derived from PVC pipe now used in sanitary 

systems throughout the U.S. are estimated at $270 

million. Converting the entire sanitary sewer system to 

PVC could save upwards of $800 million a year.

Helping Build a Greener Tomorrow

PVC piping is one of the world’s most sustainable 

products. It is produced with sustainable and 

abundant resources: chlorine, which is derived from 

salt, and domestically produced natural gas, which 

helps reduce consumption of imported oil. 

For real sustainability, long-term performance 

and efficient resource management is critical.
Clean and Safe Manufacturing

PVC pipe’s environmental footprint is far smaller 

than competing piping materials. Its manufacturing is 

extremely efficient, with virtually 100 percent of the

PVC compound being used. There are no smoke 

stacks at PVC pipe facilities.

PVC pipe’s ecological credentials have been 

demonstrated by numerous life-cycle assessments, 

which scientifically assess the impact of a product, 

from raw material extraction to end-of-life.

And since sustainability involves a social 

dimension, it’s important to look at it in terms of 

human resources and worker safety. According to the 

United States Bureau of Labor, the plastic piping 

industry has an outstanding record in this area, 

experiencing far fewer injuries and illnesses in every 

phase of production, on average, than similar 

industries.
A Smaller Human Footprint 

But PVC pipe’s greatest environmental attribute 

is perhaps its exceptional durability and corrosion 

resistance – leading to better water conservation and 

lower replacement, maintenance and repair costs for 

our piping infrastructure.

More than ever, we need PVC pipe.