FAQs About PVC Pipes

PVC pipe is one of the most common and popular options for providing communities and homes with clean, safe drinking water. In fact, it’s been in use around the world for more than 70 years. Whether as a replacement for aging infrastructure around the country or for new homes and communities, PVC pipe is a viable, cost-effective solution.

Wondering about PVC pipe? Here are some of the frequently asked questions we hear about PVC pipes, many of which are referenced in the recently published Second Edition of Hanser Publication’s PVC Handbook. Designed for a diverse audience of users, the handbook offers an industry standard on all aspects of PVC makeup and manufacturing.

Q: Is PVC pipe safe for drinking water?

A: PVC pipe is absolutely safe for drinking water, and government regulations make sure of it year after year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that all pipes used for drinking water, PVC included, comply with the rigorous NSF International standard, NSF/ANSI 61: Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects. NSF International uses exhaustive testing methods to establish independent standards to ensure the safety of our drinking water. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 18, p. 888-889.)

Q: Does it leach vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) into drinking water?

A: During manufacturing, vinyl chloride monomer is removed from PVC resin to levels not considered a human health hazard, and this is also required and verified under the NSF/ANSI 61 standard. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 19, p. 937-938.) The EPA also mandates water testing to show less than 2 parts per billion of VCM. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 2, p. 45-46.)

Q: Does PVC pipe for drinking water contain phthalates?

A: No. The rigid PVC pipe used to convey drinking water does not contain phthalates. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 18, p. 892, Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association – The Health, Safety, and Environmental Performance of PVC Pipe, 2024, p. 3.)

Q: Does PVC pipe melt in wildfires?

A: This is a common misperception. Because most PVC water supply pipe is buried underground to a sufficient depth, it’s not exposed to that level of fire in a wildfire situation that will destroy the pipe or impair its functionality. In general, the molecular structure of PVC prevents the material from ever truly melting to a liquid condition, but it does soften enough at hot temperatures used in extrusion processes to be able to form the PVC into pipe. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 19, p. 938.)

Q: Does PVC pipe leach benzene into drinking water after wildfires?

A: Benzene production through thermal degradation of PVC has been seen during a process called “pyrolysis,” which involves high temperatures and the absence of oxygen. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 21. P. 1037-1038.) In a wildfire, properly buried PVC water pipe does not see hot enough temperatures to thermally decompose plastics. Also, even if, hypothetically, a wildfire resulted in the high temperature required to create benzene from PVC, the pipe would already have softened and been destroyed, thereby making it unable to convey the water anyway.

Q: Does PVC pipe degrade or release chemicals when exposed to disinfectants?

A: Water utilities use chlorinated disinfectants to kill harmful bacteria, such as E. Coli, in drinking water. PVC pipe is inherently resistant to chlorinated disinfectants due to the polar nature of the polymer. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 18, p. 879, 886.) The fact that PVC pipe is so widely used for drinking water service and its longevity for use in the presence of disinfectant byproducts is testimony to its chemical resistance.

Q: How long does PVC pipe last?

A: Testing of in-service water systems from around the world shows that PVC pipes have a service life in excess of 100 years. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 19, p.944.) In fact, a 2023 report on water main breaks in the U.S. and Canada by Utah State University found that PVC pipe has the lowest overall failure rate compared to three other commonly used piping materials. (Folkman, S., “Water Main Break Rates In the USA and Canada: A Comprehensive Study” (2018), p. 24-26; and 2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 18, p.887.)

Q: Does PVC pipe become brittle with age or cold temperatures?

A: Samples of pipe have been extracted after being in the ground for 70 years, and they have retained enough properties to meet the performance standards required of the original pipe. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 19, p. 944.) PVC pipe retains its functionality in cold temperatures and has been successfully used in various climatic regions around the world.

Q: Is PVC pipe heat resistant?

A: In general, PVC pipe is pressure rated up to 140 degrees. Hot water lines use CPVC pipe, which is code-approved for use in homes and pressure rated up to 180 degrees. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 18, p. 889-890. and Chapter 11, p. 516-517.) In extreme conditions like a house fire, PVC pipes behind the walls are typically not exposed to the intense heat of the fire until the home is fully engulfed. It will take sustained heat and fire to cause it to sag or lose strength.

Q: Is PVC pipe UV resistant? How does UV exposure affect PVC pipe over time?

A: Traditional PVC pipes used underground and in homes are not designed for long-term UV exposure. However, most PVC pipe has some pigments and functional fillers that provide UV resistance for several months up to one year or longer depending on the pipe compound formulation. This helps protect the pipes when they are exposed to sunlight when stored outside and on a jobsite before and during construction. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 15, p. 717, Chapter 18, p. 879, 886-888, 892.)

Q: Is PVC pipe environmentally sustainable?

A: PVC pipe has several attributes that contribute to its sustainability. From a life cycle and carbon footprint perspective, an assessment by Sustainable Solutions Corporation revealed that PVC pipe has lower environmental impacts – lower embodied energy, lower use-phase energy, and longer life attributes – compared to pipe used in equivalent applications made from materials like iron, cement, and clay. (Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association – The Health, Safety, and Environmental Performance of PVC Pipe, 2024, p. 5.) When considering the impacts throughout the product life cycle, PVC pipes require much less energy to manufacture and transport, and they can operate for more than a century and need fewer replacements over their lifetime.

Finally, while PVC pipe materials are formulated to be durable, they also have the potential to be reused or recycled at the end of their life. Thanks to ongoing efforts by manufacturers and the industry as a whole, there is a strong and growing market that enables the reuse of these valuable materials to make new durable products. (2nd Ed. PVC Handbook, Chapter 21, p. 1028-1031.)

All U.S. producers of PVC resins are certified either Gold or Silver in the Vinyl Sustainability Council’s +Vantage Vinyl™ program. +Vantage Vinyl-verified companies are the industry’s sustainability leaders actively working to improve their sustainability performance in each of the industry’s impact categories — resource efficiency, emissions, and people & community. Their sustainability efforts are verified by GreenCircle Certified, an independent third-party.

Communities Rely on PVC Pipe

Whether replacing aging infrastructure or providing clean water in new homes, PVC pipes provide a durable, reliable, and safe solution. To learn more, visit www.vinylinfo.org.

 

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