EPA Must Go One Step Further in Replacing Lead Service Lines & Advise Against Using PVC Plastic Pipes
For Immediate Release: December 1, 2023
Contacts:
Melissa Valliant, Beyond Plastics - MelissaValliant@Bennington.edu, (410) 829-0726
Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics – JudithEnck@Bennington.edu, (518) 605-1770
Yesterday, the U.S. EPA announced it would require the removal of virtually all lead water pipes across the country to protect children and the public from its health impacts. It has not offered guidance on a replacement material. In response, Beyond Plastics released the following statement from president of Beyond Plastics and former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck:
“I applaud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to require the removal of lead pipes used for drinking water nationwide, but EPA administrator Michael Regan needs to take that one step further and advise local governments not to replace lead service lines with PVC plastic pipes. Like all plastic, PVC and CPVC contain chemical additives — some toxic and many untested for toxicity — that can leach into our drinking water. The Biden administration must ensure we don’t leap from the frying pan into the fire by replacing lead pipes with another material that threatens public health, like PVC, especially when safe alternatives exist.”
Beyond Plastics, Environmental Health Sciences, and Plastic Pollution Coalition released a report titled “The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes” earlier this year detailing the public health risks posed by PVC pipes.
The report reviewed the published literature and examined the potential impacts on human health when the chemicals in PVC leach into drinking water. The analysis raises concerns for state and local officials who will determine how to replace lead pipes in their communities, as well as for the residents who will be using the water that flows through those pipes. It identifies recycled copper and stainless steel pipes as preferable alternatives. Although these materials are slightly more expensive than PVC plastic, the majority of the cost of lead service line replacement projects is from labor and digging up streets, not from the cost of the piping.
As with all plastic products, PVC plastic contains chemical additives, some of which are known to be toxic to humans and many of which have yet to be tested for safety. Just as the chemicals in food packaging can leach into food, the chemicals in PVC pipes can leach into drinking water, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can harm children and developing fetuses at very low levels. Additionally, there are no existing drinking water standards that factor in the cumulative burden of exposure to these chemical mixtures. Chemical leaching has also been found to vary by product formulation, and manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemical ingredients of their pipes, nor report their chemical release testing data.
For the full report and other materials, please visit https://www.beyondplastics.org/publications/perils-of-pvc-pipes
About Beyond Plastics
Launched in 2019, Beyond Plastics is a nationwide project that pairs the wisdom and experience of environmental policy experts with the energy and creativity of grassroots advocates to build a vibrant and effective movement to end plastic pollution. Using deep policy and advocacy expertise, Beyond Plastics is building a well-informed, effective movement seeking to achieve the institutional, economic, and societal changes needed to save our planet and ourselves, from the negative health, climate, and environmental impacts for the production, usage, and disposal of plastics.
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