Proposal to allow PVC pipe in construction delayed

Union plumbers and Philadelphia firefighters yesterday deflected a change in the city's plumbing code that would allow plastic PVC pipe to be widely used in construction, a cost-saving measure favored by developers.

City Council's Committee on Licenses and Inspections continued a hearing on Councilman Darrell L. Clarke's bill to allow the use of PVC pipe in all residential construction. Currently the pipe can be used only in structures of three stories or fewer with four units or fewer. The Nutter administration backed the bill, saying Philadelphia's construction costs are driven up by requiring metal pipes. But 150 plumbers filled Council's chambers to argue that cast-iron pipes are safer, and they were backed by firefighters who said the chemicals emitted by PVC pipes in a fire would pose a health threat to them.

Committee chair Maria Quiñones Sánchez adjourned the hearing with the understanding that all sides would work on a compromise. - Jeff Shields