PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Arthur Klock, Director of Trade Education at Plumbers Local 1 Trade Education Fund
1:22:37
·
5 min
Arthur Klock, representing Plumbers Local 1 Trade Education Fund, strongly opposes the proposed legislation for ancillary dwelling units and basement apartment conversions due to the inclusion of plastic piping. He argues that plastic pipes pose serious safety and health risks, potentially creating a secondary, less safe building code for affordable housing.
- Klock highlights concerns about chemical leaching, flammability, and inability to sanitize plastic pipes.
- He draws parallels to past issues with lead piping and warns against using underserved communities as "guinea pigs."
- The testimony emphasizes the importance of maintaining a single, equitable building code for all New Yorkers, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Arthur Klock
1:22:37
The first thing I'd like to say is that, Deputy Commissioner Sirakis, who was just up here, was asked a direct question by the chair.
1:22:44
And his answer was that he would have to check, but he didn't know.
1:22:48
So he doesn't know the plumbing code and he doesn't know whether plastic water supply piping would be allowed in a 1 or 2 family home.
1:22:55
The answer is no.
1:22:56
It would not be allowed.
1:22:58
I just thought I'd like to correct that.
1:23:00
Good afternoon.
1:23:01
My name is Arthur Clark and I'm director of trade education for Plumbers Local 1 Trade Education Fund.
1:23:06
My thanks to chair Sanchez and members of the city council committee on housing and buildings for the opportunity to speak.
1:23:11
I'm here to express strong opposition to both, t 202427642765, proposed legislation governing the construction of ancillary dwelling units, and a pilot program converting existing basements or solar apartments to dwelling units.
1:23:26
The use of plastic piping or plastic PEX tubing in the plumbing of these units has been quietly slid into both bills and makes them risky and unacceptable.
1:23:34
There are serious and well documented safety and health issues surrounding plastic piping.
1:23:38
And by including it in a bill to expand affordable housing, I fear that this body might be unwittingly creating 2 different plumbing codes.
1:23:46
1 that adheres to the most stringent safety standards for those that can afford it and one that ignores chemical contamination and fire hazards for affordable housing.
1:23:54
It is my opinion that the creation of a secondary building code in New York City for underprivileged residents is abhorrent.
1:24:00
Our building code has always been a beacon of equity.
1:24:03
No more tenements for the poor.
1:24:04
I was born and raised in this city and I was taught that we learned that lesson generations ago.
1:24:09
This is not a labor issue.
1:24:10
Yes.
1:24:11
Plastic itself is cheaper, but it's well known that the purported labor savings when installing plastic piping is exaggerated by the plastics industry as a sales technique.
1:24:20
Plastic water piping has a terrible record that is only getting worse.
1:24:23
Do not take my word for it.
1:24:24
Check with FDNY and NYCHA who only a short time ago reiterate reiterated their opposition to the use of plastic piping, including saying, that even if its use was approved, they would not use it.
1:24:36
Plastic pipes are known to commonly leach chemicals used in their manufacture into water passing through them.
1:24:41
Can I continue?
Pierina Sanchez
1:24:42
Please conclude.
1:24:42
Yep.
Arthur Klock
1:24:43
Passing through the environmental chemicals have also been shown to leach from the environment into plastic piping because it's permeable, while copper and other metal piping has not, means that water passing through plastic piping is susceptible to both internal and external chemical contamination.
1:24:57
Polyvinylchloride or PVC is highly flammable.
1:25:01
PVC is a substance that burns and can sustain a flame.
1:25:03
And you can ask the FDNY how well PVC burns behind walls.
1:25:07
You're essentially putting solid fuel into a building when you install PVC drainage piping.
1:25:11
Remember, it travels through shafts and drilled holes from floor to floor.
1:25:15
When burning, it releases polyvinyl chloride gas, which is highly toxic.
1:25:18
To those who would say plastic piping has been found safe and legal for over 30 years, allow me to clarify the record.
1:25:24
Every 4 or 5 years when a previously unidentified chemical is found to be leaching from plastic piping, the plastic companies reformulate the chemical makeup of the piping.
1:25:32
They do this every 4 or 5 years because you can only spot a dangerous chemical if you know what you're looking for.
1:25:37
However, they do not remove the dangerous previous generations of plastic pipe.
1:25:41
Once installed, they remain hidden like the lead pipe of yesteryear.
1:25:44
It is also critical to mention that these plastic lines cannot be sanitized in case of a biological contamination such as Legionella.
1:25:51
There are only 2 ways to do that, chlorine or high temperature water.
1:25:55
PECS cannot deal with either of these things.
1:25:57
It won't survive either of those.
1:25:59
Plastic piping has been found to be attractive to rodents who chew holes in it, cause tremendous damage to the building when those pipes leak or burst.
1:26:05
We certainly have our fair share of rodents.
1:26:07
Along with health concerns and safety issues, many multimillion dollar lawsuits have accompanied the installation and subsequent failure of plastic piping.
1:26:14
In Florida, you can't obtain home insurance if your house has certain types of plastic piping installed.
1:26:19
Now the plastic industry untruth is that the plastic pipes are recyclable, they are not unlike copper.
1:26:25
Even though we're told plastic piping is safe, research continues to point to serious problems including ingestion of microplastic particles.
1:26:32
This has happened before.
1:26:33
There was a time not long ago when we were told that lead piping was the way to go.
1:26:37
At that time when it was installed, lead piping was widely available, affordable, marketed by the lead industry as proven safe for use across a wide range of applications.
1:26:45
Over the last decade, however, 100 of communities have spent 1,000,000,000 of dollars and countless hours finding and replacing toxic pipes made of lead in local home schools and businesses.
1:26:54
We're still paying for that previous belief in corporate marketing.
1:26:57
Do we really wanna use the underserved as guinea pigs again?
1:27:01
The plastic piping industry cannot be trusted and the fact that they need to change the chemical makeup of their product every few years speaks to their dishonesty.
1:27:08
I would strongly encourage anyone, on this committee to remove the language on plastic piping from these bills.
1:27:14
There should be only one building code that respects the safety and health of everyone in our city equally regardless of their socioeconomic situation.
1:27:21
As a child, I often took the bus to Rees Park Beach.
1:27:24
I learned who Jacob Riess was and what he did.
1:27:26
I urged the members of the council to act in the spirit of mister Riess and be careful not to create an alternate code for the other half.
1:27:33
Sacrifices might have to be made to expand affordable housing, but it should never be the health and safety of fellow New Yorkers that is being sacrificed.
1:27:39
Thank you.
