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.

Intr oduced in North America in 1951, corrosion

proof 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 ind ustry 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 Internatio nal

– 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 confirme d 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 fro m 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 s ome 10 million quality control
tests have been conducted on water carri ed 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 Ame rica, 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 trillio n 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 Associati on Research Foundation recently quantified its life expectancy a t 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 lig ht 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 sur face reduces

pumping costs and its leak

- free joints eliminate water
loss

– which can be up to 40 percent in some old

technology 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 e nd

- 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.