PVC and PEX Pipes in Water Delivery Systems: Informing Stakeholders on Product Life Cycles, Hazards, and Environmental-Justice Considerations

MS Environmental and Green Chemistry Capstone

Spring 2024

PVC and PEX Pipes in Water Delivery Systems: Informing Stakeholders on Product Life Cycles, Hazards, and Environmental-Justice Considerations

Presented by:  Tyler Amrine, Zach Basile, Nancy Fahmy, Madeline Pandos, and Morgan Ward

GW MS EGC Graduate Students

In this project, the student team showed that the combination of sustainability, toxicology, and environmental justice evaluations supports PEX-a as the preferable pipe material over C-PVC for in-home water distribution. Overall, the life cycle of PEX-a has lower adverse impact than C-PVC, which includes occupational exposures and environmental releases from production and installation, as well as the contaminants that are expected to be present in potable water for consumers. The chlorine content of C-PVC plays a significant role in the total burden across green chemistry, sustainability, and toxicology; this burden is absent with PEX-a. C-PVC and PEX-a are similarly affordable, but they are less expensive than other in-home alternatives, such as copper. This is an important consideration for low-income households as cost could make plastics the only viable option. Lastly, the study indicated that marginalized communities are negatively impacted by PVC manufacturing, as these sites pose undue burden on the surrounding population, which skews toward low-income and POC households. 

 

Project Partner: U.S. EPA: Environmental and Protection Agency