Beyond Plastics Deceives Public, Denies 60 Years of Science-based Evidence on PVC Pipe

Once again, Beyond Plastics has pushed out another report chock-full of false claims, misinformation, and fearmongering regarding PVC. This time they focused on PVC pipe – a product with a decades-long track record of proven safety and efficacy in delivering clean drinking water to the public.

Beyond Plastics has prioritized sensationalism over public health by dismissing nearly 60 years of rigorous NSF testing – the legally recognized standard for water pipes in the U.S. and Canada. NSF standards ensure that certified piping materials, such as PVC and CPVC, are safe for the delivery of clean drinking water.

Going well beyond its purview, Beyond Plastics makes recommendations to replace lead service lines with alternative piping systems that rely on substances such as lead and arsenic to construct them.

Beyond Plastics disregards the overwhelming majority of credible science and decades of research that affirms the safety of PVC pipe. PVC is approved for use the world over in water distribution and transmission, consumer products, and medical applications. Some 10 million quality control tests have been conducted on water carried through PVC pipes since it was introduced in North America and around the world.  This comprehensive and ongoing assessment by leading, accredited laboratories confirms the product is safe and beneficial to public health.

PVC pipe stays clean, even after decades of use, due to its smooth and non-corrosive surface. Unlike iron pipe, PVC pipe is not susceptible to tuberculation, a form of internal corrosion and bio-film contamination which can limit flow, increase pumping energy and be a breeding ground for bacteria. In fact, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that L. pneumophila, a species of Legionella most often linked to Legionnaire’s disease, has an increased chance of growing on iron and copper pipes than PVC.

A growing number of municipal governments rely on PVC to deliver clean drinking water to their residents because the material meets rigorous safety standards and has a service life of 100 years or longer.

Beyond Plastics rejects decades of serious, credible scientific findings – and puts its agenda ahead of providing evidence-based information to the public – in its latest report. The facts, the research and the real-world use of PVC pipe for over a half a century unequivocally prove PVC pipe delivers safe, clean drinking water. And that is why city managers around the country are turning to PVC pipe to modernize their water infrastructure.