Article Chastises Plastic Pipe Industry for “Blatant Misrepresentation”

A recent article published by Poly Pipe News examines how plastic-pipe manufacturers manipulated industry perceptions of safety and reliability. While it focuses on plastic manufacturers defending polybutylene (PB) piping failures, it levels criticisms that should apply to all plastic manufacturers who use aggressive marketing and selective data presentation to promote their products.

The article describes a primary strategy employed by plastic pipe industry groups as “cherry-picking data” and  through “blatant misrepresentation” of legal and scientific findings to minimize perceptions of risk. One example: the Polybutylene Piping Systems Association promoted a selective narrative regarding PB pipe failures, focusing almost exclusively on a single lawsuit favorable to their position while downplaying or ignoring liabilities exposed by many other lawsuits.

Our research has found other plastic plumbing advocates using similar tactics, for example, trying to shape perceptions of resilience by minimizing unfavorable characteristics such as chemical vulnerability, describing them as “generally resistant to attack from many chemicals.” In addition, IAPMO documents have discussed whether