The American labor movement stands at the front advocating for the health and safety of workers and the public. Weakening the Model Plumbing Codes creates more risks across the board: for pipefitters and all construction workers, for fire fighters and other first responders, and for the public as a whole.

The Model Plumbing Codes barred plastic plumbing pipes from high-rise buildings for decades. However, special interest groups within the industry have been trying to weaken these codes for high-rise buildings, despite the risk to the health and safety of the people who live and work there. These lowered standards created a number of unfortunate results that put lives in jeopardy:

• Off gassing from plastic piping and the adhesives used to bond them pose long-term health risks to workers forced to breathe the fumes in confined spaces during construction.

• During fire events, first responders and building occupants suffer increased health risks from toxic smoke and gases. Cumulative exposure to toxins in plastics over the past 40 years has also contributed to dramatic increases in cancer rates amongst fire fighters.

• Occupants of buildings also suffer negative health effects from plastics due to eroded interior air quality, leaching of chemicals into drinking water (see below), and reduced building safety and resiliency.

Although plastic materials (PVC, CPVC, ABS) may be appropriate for some piping applications, codes must prohibit installation of plastic piping for plumbing used for drinking water and drain, waste, and vent in hotels and residential buildings greater than two stories in height. It should also prohibit plastic pipe in critical patient occupancies such as hospitals, nursing facilities, high-rise residential structures, and healthcare facilities.

These buildings should require use of piping materials that ensure the highest levels of health, safety, and non-combustibility to protect workers, first responders, building occupants and the environment for a number of reasons, including:

Plastic pipe requires more complex firestopping systems in fire-rated construction than do non-combustible pipes. If improperly installed and/or inspected, these systems allow fire to spread more easily.

As noted above, plastic begins to break down at temperatures of 400 degrees, starts to burn at 600 degrees, releasing toxic smoke and emitting toxins such as benzene into water supplies.

Even in normal use, plastic piping leaches hydrocarbons and chemicals into drinking water. A recent analysis of PE, PEX, HDPE, PP, CPVC and PVC identified 163 leachable substances, 74 of which are not understood or regulated.

Plastic waste from construction materials and other applications continues to rise exponentially, with only a fraction being captured for recycling.

Engineers, architects and regulatory decision makers should consider use of materials that are noncombustible, durable, resilient, and sustainable in lieu of plastic materials.

We call for all involved in the construction industry to recognize and act to mitigate the threats outlined above to protect workers, fire fighters, and building occupants.

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