A California appeals court ruled Nov. 17 that PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) pipe will be subject to California Environmental Quality Act review before it can be installed for drinking water in buildings in the state.
The latest turn in this legal battle comes in a lawsuit filed in 2001 by the California State Pipe Trades Council, a Sacramento-based organization representing 26 plumbing and pipefitting local unions. It charged that the pipes, which have been used since 1994 and included in the International Code Councils standards since 1997, may leach Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) and benzene into drinking water, prematurely decay and rupture and could spread fires more rapidly than metal pipe.