Originally Posted by oldred

428- Believe me I know what you are talking about and these guys who think they are superman had better listen now as they may not be able to "listen" to ANYTHING a lot sooner than they think. Guys just try and imagine a terrible ringing in your ears that you will take to your grave. If you hear even a slight ringing or a sound sort of like crickets now when you are in in a quite room then you are already well on your way. You may think my description is funny right now but when you start to hear these sounds over top of everyday noise and find that you have trouble understanding what people are saying to you it will become VERY serious to you but you wont be able to do a damn thing to cure it. THE TIME IS NOW! A loud stereo may seem "cool" to you but I guarantee a hearing aid wont!

Originally Posted by Kevin45

This is a topic that has come up numerous times and prety much seems to be a no win on either side. I have ALWAYS heard plastic piping is a no no. I have read where plastic has shattered sending sharp fragments in every direction. Now whether the temperature has anything to do with it I don't know but would thing it a factor. Especially considering that you are going from inside to outside back to inside. If you do not want to bite the bullet and replace everything right now, I would at least replace your drops with something more substantial. That way if it (and it may not) decides to go it will be shielded from human contact. Then you could replace what went bad. But what you have running up one wall and down the other I would replace just for the safety aspect.

Kevin

Originally Posted by OSHA

SUBJECT: Safety Hazard Information Bulletin on
the Use of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pipe
in Above ground Installations


The Dallas Regional Office has brought to our attention a potential serious hazard existing with the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic pipes for transporting compressed gases in above ground installations. An employee in a Texas plant was injured recently by a rupture in a PVC compressed air line. Plastic projectiles from the point of rupture caused lacerations of the employee's hand. This is noteworthy because the Plastic Pipe Institute, in its Recommendation B dated January 19, 1972, recommends against the use of thermoplastic pipe to transport compressed air or other compressed gases in exposed plant piping. (See attachment.)

Furthermore, sections 842.32, 842.43 and 849.52(b) of the American National Standards Institute/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ANSI/ASME) B31.8-1986, Gas Transmission and Distribution Piping Systems Standard, limit the operating pressure of plastic piping distribution systems to 100 pounds per inch (psi) and prohibit the installation of such systems above ground except where ". . . the above ground portion of the plastic service line is completely enclosed in a conduit or casing of sufficient strength to provide protection from external damage and deterioration." (Excerpts attached.)

Additional consensus standards applicable to PVC compressed gas systems include American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) D1785-86, Standard Specification for Polyvinyl Chloride Plastic Pipe, Schedules 40, 80, and 120, and ASTM D2513-86a, Standard Specification for Thermoplastic Gas Pressure Piping Systems.