PB Plastic Pipe Problems

PB CLASS ACTION -- Shell Oil, E. I. Dupont, & Hoescht Celanese Corporation have already paid millions of dollars in settlements to United States homeowners to assist them with Polybutylene (PB) water piping that has failed. The Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center in the US is handling the claims and can be reached at 1-800-356-3496. They will also help Canadians with justifiable claims as well. Very few Canadian requests have been made thus far, as the problems appear to be largely US based. Nevertheless the exact same type of PB piping used in the United States homes has also been used in Canadian homes. Shell stopped supplying the PB beads to U.S. manufacturers in 1996. For the most part, plumbing systems are now installed with polyethylene cross-link pipe systems (PEX) as PB pipe is difficult to obtain even though it is a certified and acceptable material.

Leaks have been found to occur inside the line (mostly in hot water lines) and sometimes in areas with no stress. It is alleged that chlorinated water affects PB by speeding up failure through oxidative and chemical attack. You may find PB pipes in your attic and many areas of your house, such as your in-floor radiant heating system, attached to your hot water tank or under your kitchen or bathroom sink. PB pipe is not PVC or CPVC, which is a rigid white or off-white plastic pipe.

Recommended PB pipe don'ts:

- Don't use where it might be exposed to UV (ultra violet) light and/or direct sunlight
- Don't use it in hot water applications e.g. above 180 F or in continuous hot water loops
- Don't use acetyl insert fittings (not common in Canada)
- Don't use hot water heater connections unless they are metal and at least 18" long
- Don't have it within 6 inches of a hot water tank and/or furnace flue pipes
- Do not use where chlorine levels in the water pipe are 2 PPM or more

ABS CLASS ACTION -- Six class action complaints have been coordinated before the Honorable Mark B. Simons, Contra Costa County Superior Court, State of California, and allege that ABS pipe manufactured at certain times between 1984 and 1990 by Polaris Pipe Co. ("Polaris"), Gable Plastics, Inc. ("Gable"), Centaur Mfg., Inc. ("Centaur"), Centaur Marketing, Inc. a/k/a Phoenix Extrusion Co. ("Phoenix"), and Apache Plastics, Inc. ("Apache") is defective and may leak. The overwhelming majority of the allegedly defective Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) pipe at issue is located in the State of California. All defendants in this action deny all liability and deny that the ABS pipe at issue is defective. The Court has not yet ruled one way or the other, on the correctness of plaintiffs' claims. In addition, the fact that your residence or building has ABS pipe manufactured by one or more of the defendant manufacturers does not mean that your residence or building has the allegedly defective ABS pipe at issue.

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