CPVC Offers Numerous Health and Safety Benefits,
Results in Lower Total Installed Costs Than Traditional Materials
by Bryan Hutton

Budgets are getting pinched everywhere you look, creating a greater focus on bottom line product and installation costs.  In the plumbing arena, the same is true.  As a result, more and more specifying engineers and facility owners are taking a second look at the piping materials they're using and questioning whether there is a more efficient material than traditional copper and steel.

It was more than a decade ago that prices for copper and other metallics started escalating at record levels.  Prices remain comparatively high today with erratic fluctuations making it difficult, if not impossible, to accurately estimate budgets.  Cost is a key factor driving the market to consider newer and more cost-efficient materials and technologies, including chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC).

Yet, the ideal plumbing system should not and cannot be chosen on price alone, especially in institutions where the health and well-being of students and/or patients are at stake.  This article is designed to explore those features and benefits, beyond cost, that make CPVC pipe and fittings the smart choice for educational and healthcare facilities.

Uncompromised Water Quality
Increased publicity and concerns regarding healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services early in 2011 to launch a $1 billion public-private patient safety initiative that included the goal of decreasing preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent between 2010 and 2013.  With more than a million HAIs resulting in tens of thousands of deaths per year (according to Hugh Waters, MS, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in a MedPage  Today report), there is more focus on those products and occurrences within healthcare institutions that lead to adverse medical outcomes.  That includes a greater focus on the quality of the water coming out of the tap.  Although no piping material actually improves the quality of the water, CPVC is known for its ability to maintain water quality.  Why?  Two reasons:  CPVC is naturally corrosion-resistant which means, unlike copper and galvanized steel piping, it will not corrode or leach potentially harmful metals into drinking water; and, it offers superior antimicrobial protection when compared with many other metallic and non-metallic piping materials.

The plumbing industry has only recently become focused on biofilm formation, although its study dates back more than a decade with implications affecting a wide array of industries.  The American Dental Association defines biofilm as slime-producing bacterial communities that may harbor fungi, algae and protozoa.  These microorganisms colonize and replicate on the interior surfaces of waterlines, creating highly resilient microbial accumulations.   They are of particular concern for potable water distribution systems because they are typically resistant to conventional methods of disinfection.

Facility managers and owners need to be aware of the potential for biofilm formation because of the link to various health problems.  A study done by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute estimated that nearly 80 percent of all infections can be linked back to biofilms in some way.  Bacterial biofilms have also been shown to impair wound healing.  More serious concerns include legionella bacteria and E. coli, which can live within biofilms, making it difficult to ensure clean, safe drinking water.

Because of the seriousness of the threat posed by biofilm formation, the topic has been the subject of numerous studies conducted across the globe.  A recent study was conducted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pusan National University and the Korea Institute of Water and Environment to investigate the effect of commonly used piping materials on biofilm formation potential and microbial communities.  Korean biofilm researchers J. Yu, D. Kim and T. Lee completed the study entitled "Microbial diversity in biofilms on water distribution pipes of different materials" to determine which plumbing pipe materials provided the best protection against biofilm formation.

The study compared microbial growth on six commonly used piping materials, including three metals--copper, stainless steel and steel coated with zinc--and three plastics--chlorinated polyvinyl chloride/CPVC, polyethylene (raw material used in cross-linked polyethylene/PE-X), and polybutylene.  The pipe samples were incubated in three different types of drinking water inside a dark chamber at approximately 77°F (room temperature).  This scenario best represented the reality of water sitting inside an institution's plumbing system.

The water samples included disinfected tap water, drinking water mixed with river water, and drinking water inoculated with E. coli.   The test was duplicated to verify the observed amount of microbial regrowth, which resulted in such adverse effects as corrosion, declining quality of water taste and odor, disinfectant decay, and the spread of pathogenic diseases.

Based on the test results, CPVC emerged as the most suitable non-metallic piping material for plumbing due to its low biofilm formation potential and the fact that it produced the least microbial diversity within the biofilm.  CPVC also outperformed stainless steel and steel coated with zinc by a wide margin.  It proved to perform equal to copper in key categories, including microorganism activity, although it's important to note that fewer kinds of bacteria were shown to grow on the CPVC pipe surface than on the copper pipe surface. 

Korea is not the only region focusing time and money on the study of biofilm formation.   The Dutch Research and Knowledge Institute for Drinking Water (KIWA) has also published multiple studies that also confirm the favorable performance of CPVC over other piping materials with regard to its ability to resist the formation of biofilm.

The KIWA reports have been supported by follow-up studies conducted by Dr. Paul Sturman, research professor and industrial coordinator for The Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, the largest facility in the United States dedicated to the study of biofilm.  Dr. Sturman reviewed the KIWA studies and concluded that CPVC consistently outperforms most other non-metallic piping materials and is comparable to copper in its biofilm resistance performance.  Dr. Sturman notes as well that the actual design of the plumbing system itself is a major contributing factor on the build-up of biofilm.

Material Safety Performance
Fire is a very real concern for institutions with large numbers of students or patients.  That's why the flammability of the building products being used should also be a consideration.  CPVC scores high marks for its flame and smoke characteristics.   Tests conducted by such third-party organizations  as Factory Mutual (FM) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) confirm that, unlike other non-metallics, such as polypropylene and cross-linked polyethylene (PE-X), CPVC will not contribute to a fire's fuel load, nor will it support combustion.  That's because there is not enough oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere to cause CPVC to continue burning once the flame source has been removed.

Independent, third-party tests have also been conducted to evaluate the toxicity of smoke from CPVC piping that has been burned.   Although all materials give off some level of toxins when burned, testing confirmed that CPVC piping systems produce far fewer toxins than many common building materials, such as wool and cotton, and are comparable to the toxins released when burning wood.

Reliability and Long-Term Service Life
Aside from escalating and erratic prices, another concern commonly expressed with copper and steel plumbing systems is corrosion.  Depending on the pH levels in the ground water, as well as the air (especially in coastal regions), copper and steel pipe are susceptible to pinhole leaks caused by corrosion in as little as a few years.  Ongoing problems with corrosion and leaks can lead to expensive repairs and, eventually, the need to repipe the entire system.   Copper and other metals are also prone to scaling, which is the buildup of deposits inside the pipe that ultimately restrict water flow.   CPVC on the other hand, like other non-metallic piping materials, is fully immune to corrosion, pitting and scaling.  With no corrosion concerns, a CPVC plumbing system offers a long, reliable service life.  And since there is no scaling, the CPVC system maintains its full water-carrying capacity throughout the life of the system.

Noise Reduction
Although noise is seldom a problem in educational facilities, it is a common problem in hospitals and other healthcare facilities where patients may be trying to rest.  If the wrong piping material is chosen, the piping system itself may well be contributing to the overall noise level as a result of water flow noise and water hammer (banging of pipes).   Since sound resonates easily within and around metal, copper and steel plumbing systems are naturally noisier.   Side-by-side testing conducted by NSF International showed that the material was four times quieter than copper with regard to water flow noise and virtually eliminated water hammer.

Fast, Easy, Safer Installations
Time is money.  So it goes without saying that a faster installation is likely a less expensive one.   CPVC pipe and fittings are quickly and easily joined via a solvent cement bonding process in which the joint is cured and ready for testing in a matter of minutes.   Not only is the joining method fast, but it's also highly reliable, resulting in a joint that has proven to be stronger than the pipe or fitting alone.   With many other piping materials, the joint is often the weakest part of the overall system and is most prone to leaks.   With the fast and easy joining process, installations are finished quickly which leads to significant labor savings -- as much as 50 percent, depending on the size and scope of the project.  Such savings, combined with the lower, more stable material costs, also make CPVC installations more cost efficient than other piping materials.

CPVC also results in a safer installation when compared with copper and other metallic piping materials that require soldering during installation.  CPVC does not require a torch on the job site, thus eliminating the risk of a fire.   Also with CPVC pipe and fittings,  there is no need for the heavy, oily equipment that is associated with soldering.

Environmental Impact
Everyone is trying to get "greener" today, including the building industry.  That's why this article would be incomplete without discussing sustainability.  CPVC has proven compatible with today's green construction projects and is routinely used in LEED-certified projects.  As an example, it was the material of choice used throughout Muskogee Community Hospital in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which was built according to LEED standards and is the first hospital in the nation designed to earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance.

As further proof, a recent Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) was conducted for the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association (PPFA) by an outside third-party research company.  The LCI studied the environmental impact of various piping materials throughout their various product stages, including raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation to the jobsite, installation and disposal. CPVC emerged as a highly sustainable choice because of its favorable overall environmental burden and global warming potential.   In fact, CPVC requires less total energy (including energy of material resource, transportation and process) to produce than any other piping material, including PE-X and copper.

Where CPVC Is Used
CPVC piping systems are found in a wide array of commercial applications in dozens of countries around the globe.  Beyond the plumbing application discussed throughout this article, CPVC pipe and fittings are also growing in popularity for use in fire sprinkler systems, as well as chemical waste drainage systems and reclaimed water systems.  Manufactured in copper tube sizes (CTS) from 1/2"  to 2" in diameter and iron pipe sizes (IPS) in diameters up to 24", CPVC pipe and fittings are available to accommodate nearly any piping need in most commercial facilities.  And they do so with a number of unique features and benefits, only one of which is a lower bottom line cost.

About the Author:  Hutton serves as Market Development Manager for FlowGuard Gold and Corzan CPVC technologies from The Lubrizol Corporation.  A global network of manufacturers uses Corzan and FlowGuard Gold technologies in the production of their CPVC systems.  A chemical engineer, Hutton has nearly 20 years of experience working with commercial and industrial water systems.

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