Today, the California Building
Standards Commission (CBSC) certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on
crosslinked polyethylene, or PEX, tubing, and unanimously adopted regulations approving
PEX water distribution systems into the California Plumbing Code.
The new regulations take effect
Aug. 1, 2009. Until then, local jurisdictions can adopt a code to use PEX in
new and remodel construction before statewide adoption.
“Today’s decision represents a
victory for the trade and for the consumer in California,” says
Rich
Houle, Uponor associate product manager, commercial. “Contractors and
consumers finally have access to an environmentally superior product that will
provide a durable solution to the state's aggressive water conditions, while
meeting California’s high standards for drinking-water quality.”
Uponor has been actively
pursuing the adoption of PEX tubing in the California Plumbing Code since 2000.
Three years of litigation resulted in a decision by the CBSC to conduct a full
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on PEX tubing and its impact on air quality,
water quality and performance. In addition, the report evaluates PEX tubing
installation, use and disposability, as well as manufacturing processes in the
areas of waste, recycling, energy consumption and natural resources.
Conducted from October 2007
through December 2008, the EIR states that the adoption of PEX tubing into the
California Plumbing Code with proposed regulations would be “an environmentally
superior action with respect to public health and hazards, water quality and
air quality.”
Currently, 180
municipalities and counties within the state have approved the use of PEX
tubing as an alternate material to copper and other materials used for plumbing
piping. Millions of feet of PEX tubing are in use in water distribution systems
in residential and commercial applications throughout California. Under the new
state plumbing code, the following agencies will adopt regulations for the use
of PEX tubing in the types of construction under their jurisdictions:
-
Housing and Community Development (HCD) — residential construction, hotels,
motels, etc.
- Division
of State Architect–Structural Safety (DSA-SS) — state-owned buildings,
universities, etc.
- Building
Standards Commission (BSC) — commercial construction not state-owned (retail)
- Office of Statewide Health Planning and
Development (OSHPD) — hospitals, health care facilities, etc.
