5 ms·

http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141 http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141

by alliao 4y ago

ericd 4y ago
Oof: > Contamination of drinking water The PEX EIR found that methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and tert-Butyl alcohol can leach from PEX in amounts that exceed taste, odor and health guidelines set by the State of California for drinking water. The PEX EIR found that PEX pipes can initially leach as much as 290 ppb of MTBE. The California Department of Public Health and the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment have established a drinking water taste and odor standard of 5 ppb for MTBE and a drinking water public health goal and maximum contaminant level of 13 ppb. One of the key issues for the California State Pipe Trades Council was the recognition that construction workers are often the first to consume water from newly installed pipes. Because the levels of MTBE contamination from PEX pipe are highest during the first month of use, workers were at risk of repeated exposure to drinking water contaminated with MTBE at levels exceeding public health goals as they moved from job site to job site. The PEX EIR found that, unlike copper pipe, outside contaminants such as pesticides, oil, gasoline, and benzene can permeate through PEX pipe into drinking water. Several studies and articles comparing potable water pipe materials, including variants of PEX, polybutylene, polypropylene, CPVC, copper and steel, have found that PEX, at least initially, displayed the strongest biofilm formation and the strongest promotion of the growth of Legionella bacteria.
- lettergram 4y ago
  https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/images/national-incidence.jpg https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/images/national-incidence.jpg
- formerly_proven 4y ago
  1. Use plastic piping for water 2. Be surprised to find parts of the plastic in the water 3. ??? 4. Be surprised to find parts of the plastic in animals/humans
  - throwaway290 4y ago
    And even worse, have pesticides and other stuff from pipe surroundings leech through plastic into water.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    it's funny because you can make the same arguments against freshly brazed lead connections on copper pipes. And those "low lead fixtures" aren't lead-free.
    - ericd 4y ago
      Does plumbing solder still contain lead?
      - Scoundreller 4y ago
        hrmmm, looks like plumbing solder has been banned (for sale I guess) since 1986 in USA and since 1990 in Canada. US regs are specific to potable water lines, so unclear how available it is. (Wouldn't be surprised if plumbers stocked up on several years worth prior to the bans).
        ericd 4y ago
        Oh good to know, thanks for looking that up.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  > pesticides, oil, gasoline, and benzene can permeate through PEX pipe The lifespan of plastic pipe designed to be carrying water (ie: non-polar) exposed to these polar solvents has gotta be terrible. (Since like-dissolves-like, you want your water pipes to be made of a polar material so that water doesn't dissolve it).
  - NavinF 4y ago
    Pretty sure you got that backwards. Water is a polar molecule.
    - Scoundreller 4y ago
      oh yeah, I screwed up my last sentence. for clarity, in "plastic pipe designed to be carrying water", the plastic pipe is non-polar. Yes, water is polar, which is why you want it carried in something non-polar, because like-dissolves-like.

http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141 http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141

by alliao 4y ago

http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141 http://www.calpipes.org/archive.aspx?aID=14141#14141

Oof: > Contamination of drinking water The PEX EIR found that methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and tert-Butyl alcohol can leach from PEX in amounts that exceed taste, odor and health guidelines set by the State of California for drinking water. The PEX EIR found that PEX pipes can initially leach as much as 290 ppb of MTBE. The California Department of Public Health and the California Office of Health Hazard Assessment have established a drinking water taste and odor standard of 5 ppb for MTBE and a drinking water public health goal and maximum contaminant level of 13 ppb. One of the key issues for the California State Pipe Trades Council was the recognition that construction workers are often the first to consume water from newly installed pipes. Because the levels of MTBE contamination from PEX pipe are highest during the first month of use, workers were at risk of repeated exposure to drinking water contaminated with MTBE at levels exceeding public health goals as they moved from job site to job site. The PEX EIR found that, unlike copper pipe, outside contaminants such as pesticides, oil, gasoline, and benzene can permeate through PEX pipe into drinking water. Several studies and articles comparing potable water pipe materials, including variants of PEX, polybutylene, polypropylene, CPVC, copper and steel, have found that PEX, at least initially, displayed the strongest biofilm formation and the strongest promotion of the growth of Legionella bacteria.

lettergram 4y ago
https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/images/national-incidence.jpg https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/images/national-incidence.jpg
formerly_proven 4y ago
1. Use plastic piping for water 2. Be surprised to find parts of the plastic in the water 3. ??? 4. Be surprised to find parts of the plastic in animals/humans
- throwaway290 4y ago
  And even worse, have pesticides and other stuff from pipe surroundings leech through plastic into water.
- Scoundreller 4y ago
  it's funny because you can make the same arguments against freshly brazed lead connections on copper pipes. And those "low lead fixtures" aren't lead-free.
  - ericd 4y ago
    Does plumbing solder still contain lead?
    - Scoundreller 4y ago
      hrmmm, looks like plumbing solder has been banned (for sale I guess) since 1986 in USA and since 1990 in Canada. US regs are specific to potable water lines, so unclear how available it is. (Wouldn't be surprised if plumbers stocked up on several years worth prior to the bans).
      - ericd 4y ago
        Oh good to know, thanks for looking that up.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Scoundreller 4y ago
> pesticides, oil, gasoline, and benzene can permeate through PEX pipe The lifespan of plastic pipe designed to be carrying water (ie: non-polar) exposed to these polar solvents has gotta be terrible. (Since like-dissolves-like, you want your water pipes to be made of a polar material so that water doesn't dissolve it).
- NavinF 4y ago
  Pretty sure you got that backwards. Water is a polar molecule.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    oh yeah, I screwed up my last sentence. for clarity, in "plastic pipe designed to be carrying water", the plastic pipe is non-polar. Yes, water is polar, which is why you want it carried in something non-polar, because like-dissolves-like.