Plastic is a great resource when it is used and does not negatively effect our Health or our Environment. Our Company is helping by only using 100% Post consumer HDPE to create our furniture. I strongly object to the use of Plastic when children and their health is ignored for profit. There are many coatings that can be applied to the inside of PVC pipes which will negate the HEALTH HAZARDS. The Consumer will determine this outcome.
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SACRAMENTO  California home builders yesterday won the right to use less-expensive plastic water piping instead of copper, ending a two-decade-long battle against groups that warned of plastic's potential health hazards.
Developers called the decision by the California Building Standards Commission a victory for consumers because it will reduce plumbing costs in new homes and when doing retrofits.
Forty-nine other states use the product. We now have a 25-year history of this product in use, said Dennis Beddard, general counsel of the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which drafted the regulation. It clearly demonstrates this product can be used safely.

Chlorinated PolyVinyl Chloride, otherwise known as CPVC piping, is a sturdy material that  unlike most plastics  holds up even when filled with hot water. That makes it an ideal substitute for the metal pipes traditionally used in homes. It also costs several thousands dollars less in a typical home than copper piping.
But environmental concerns and fire hazards prompted state regulators to ban its use in drinking-water lines throughout the state.
The building industry has lobbied the commission since 1982 to change that. Home builders won a partial victory in 2000 when California regulators allowed limited use of plastic piping. They gave builders the right to install it in areas where soil or water conditions might prematurely corrode copper.
Environmental and consumer groups have argued that chemicals in the type of plastic piping preferred by the industry are dangerous, leaching into the soil and contaminating water that runs out the faucet.

Labor groups had sought to protect workers from the fumes given off by the glue used to fit the pipes together, while fire officials warned of the toxic fumes CPVC emits when it burns.

From leaching toxic chemicals to rupturing prematurely to fire hazards, CPVC is associated with impacts that are hazardous, said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California.

Arkansas restricts the use of CPVC pipes, while the cities of New York, Chicago and Nacogdoches, Texas, ban it, according to the Safe Building Materials Coalition, a California group that represents environmental, consumer, labor and firefighting groups that oppose the material's widespread use.
The regulations adopted unanimously yesterday by the 11-member commission are expected to be made final early next year as part of an update to the state building code. They will give builders the option to install the cheaper plastic pipes anywhere in the state.

If something works well under harsh conditions, it makes no sense if it's not allowed under average, normal conditions, said Bob Raymerr, technical director of the California Building Association.

Before the vote, environmental and consumer groups urged the panel to direct the housing department to perform another environmental assessment. They said state officials had failed to take into account scientific evidence that the plastic releases hazardous dioxins during installation and during house fires.

It's one of the most dangerous chemicals known to man, said Rene Guerrero, a project manager at the Planning and Conservation League, a statewide environmental group based in Sacramento.

The state housing department's review said installing the pipes properly would diminish health concerns.
Pipes should be flushed with water to clean them of the chemicals that can leach into the ground or drinking water, and workers should be required to wear safety gloves and masks, the review said.
State officials acknowledged the cement used to connect the pipes releases a gas that contributes to poor air quality. Beddard, of the state housing department, said the emissions are small and would be outweighed by the benefits to consumers.

Tom Enslow, an attorney with Safe Building Materials Coalition, said his members may consider filing a lawsuit to stop the widespread use of the pipe. The coalition includes the Sierra Club, Consumer Federation of California, Communities for a Better Environment and the California State Pipe Trades Council, which represents laborers.
The San Diego Union-Tribune 2007
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Knowledge will help us all use Plastic smarter to save the world, let us all not forget who we are saving it for.

Replying to [Poly-Wood Guy]:

First of all I want to express my appreciation for your continuing interest in informing us about plastics. Though that of course doesn't mean that the info you post is always correct.

Regarding this PVC deal, there are many more problems associated with it than what most people could even imagine. It starts with its production, using and producing many substances that are EXTREMELY deleterious to the environment, particularly human beings.

Besides, the production of PVC is so extremely expensive that it has to be heavily subsidized by the government to make it economically feasible. And who asked the government to subsidize with our tax money something that does a lot of harm to all of us?

PVC is already totally banned for all of its uses in some parts of the world. The city of Berlin, Germany, was the first to outlaw it for uses inside homes, and by now even many respectable toy makers have voluntarily given up the production of toys that include this hazardous substance. The fact that in the case of those water pìpes you mention it's covered with other plastics, doesn't make it any better.

It is only due to some obscure political/economical interests that this plastic is still being manufactured, but if our politicians would really represent the interests of the people, PVC would have long been forgotten.

Replying to [germex]:Thank you for your help. I agree, I am constantly learning how much of my education was nothing more than phrases I learned
and regurgitated Colleges also have agendas! I have stumbled upon many of my TRUTHS' in trade publications. Please forgive me if I have presented my findings and they are off in there merit. I am always happy to read of others who are finding new ways to construct buildings in a manner which also helps the environment, as you do.
America will never stop amazing the world with our ability to put our DOLLAR and profit, many times in front of our own health.
Again thank you! Only another Grandfather would understand the urgency, to promoting information with dispatch!