Safety Concerns

Changing products and emerging health and safety issues make designing piping systems a continuing challenge. Here are some key issues that should inform design and construction of piping systems, as well as summaries of recent news and research.

Piping systems protect human health and safety by delivering clean drinking water and removing wastewater in homes, schools and businesses. When disruptions impact critical plumbing infrastructure, they can affect entire communities, with thousands of families having to find new water sources — or in the worst cases having to relocate. Key areas of concern for piping include fire safety, chemical leaching, pollution, and permeation of toxic materials.