What’s New with Plastic Piping

PPDC Information

• Identifies pipe and fittings used in plastic piping systems

• Explains historically known plastic piping issues

• Identified trends assists with DIMP implementation and planning

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Background

• Response to NTSB recommendation and database was a precondition to DOT not mandating collection

• A national database of in-service performance of plastic piping system components

• Database administered by AGA on behalf of PPDC

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Plastic Piping Database Committee (PPDC)

Government Members• NAPSR Representatives (2)

• NARUC Representatives (2)

• PHMSA/OPS Representatives (2)

Industry Members• AGA Member

Representatives (2)

• APGA Member Representatives (2)

• PPI Member Representatives (2)

• AGA Observer (2)

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12 Members

Up to 3 Invited Guests and 1 NTSB Liaison

Plastic Piping Database Committee (PPDC)

• The scope of the committee has been expanded to include failures and/or leaks of metal or plastic appurtenances contained within plastic piping systems.

• Immediate, clearly known, third party damages are not collected or evaluated.

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Plastic Piping Database Committee (PPDC)

• Reviews the data, at minimum, on a semi-annual basis not to exceed 9 months*

• Jointly agrees on areas of focus or concern

• Issues Status Reports after each meeting

• Provides resources to aid in identification of products and to assist operators with DIMP

* The PPDC currently meets 3 times per year.

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Status of Participation

• 108 companies actively submitted data in March 2014

• PPDC submitters represent these percentages of all installed plastic piping in the U.S.– 73% plastic main– 81% plastic services

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Accuracy and Completeness of DataVERY IMPORTANT

• Impacts the analysis and conclusions by PPDC

• Needs full cooperation of participants to help resolve submitted data issues

• Increasingly important with Distribution Integrity Management

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Manufacturers Database

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Manufacturers of Plastic Piping Products - Pipe

NOTE: Operators are required to install materials that meet current requirements

Company

Material

Designation From To

Size

Range Comments

Allied PE 3306/3406 1965/66 1972/73

1/2" CTS

- 2" IPS

Was also a resin producer and supplied the AC

ultra high molecular pipe compound to several

small pipe extruders including Yardley,

Orangeburg, Endot and the Barrett Division of

Allied (also an extruder of PVC pipe). Except for

Endot, most of these producers/extruders have

since gone out of business or have different

names today. Pipe was very difficult to fuse.

Amstan PE3306

Mid-late

1960s

Manufacturers Database

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Manufacturers of Plastic Piping Products - Line Fittings

NOTE: Operators are required to install materials that meet current

requirements

Company

Material

Designation From To Size Range Comments

Georg Fischer Central

Plastics

Produced molded

fittings for pipe

producers

PE 2406 ?? Present

1" IPS - 12"

IPS Solid Yellow

PE 3408 ?? Present

1" IPS - 12"

IPS Solid Black

CP Chemical

Another name for

Performance Pipe

Manufacturers Database

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Manufacturers of Plastic Piping Products - Other fittings

NOTE: Operators are required to install materials that meet current requirements

Company

Material

Designation From To Size Range Comments

AMP

Dupont Zytel

ST-801

1970's, stainless steel and nylon

compression fitting. Technology

purchased by Metcal in 1990; can be

white in appearance. Dupont Zytel ST-

801

Nylon ?? ??

1/2" CTS -

2" IPS

Black with Stainless Steel compression

ring. Nylon 66

Georg

Fischer

Central

Plastics

Electrofusion and heat fusion fittings,

transition fittings, meter risers.

Manufacturers Database

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Manufacturers of Plastic Piping Products - Valves

NOTE: Operators are required to install materials that meet

current requirements

Company

Material

Designation From To Size Range Comments

Georg Fisher

Central Plastics

Dresser Nylon 1991 Present

1/2" CTS -

1-1/4" CTS Style 475 Curb Valve Rilsan

Friatec PE 3408 1985 1995 2" - 6" IPS

Black body with white operating

nut; ball valve

Summary of Database

The database• Contains 13+ years of collected data

– Over 35,600 data reports– More than two-5 year leak survey cycles

• Status Report includes analysis of specific data– Failures/Leaks on newly installed pipe– ABS, PVC and PE leaks by component and cause– DuPont & Uponor– Century– 3306– AMP

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Failure Causes for Pipe, Fittings and Joints

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ABS Failures by Location

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PHMSA 2012 Annual Report Data: 3791 Miles of ABS Main

PPDC active submitters have 266 Miles of ABS Main

PHMSA annual report data downloaded 2/10/14

ABS Failure Causes

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Cause

% of Total

Failures/Leaks

Excessive Expansion/Contraction 2.50%

Excessive External Earth Loading 5.00%

Installation Error 15.00%

Squeeze Off 2.50%

Point Loading 0.00%

Previous Impact 0.00%

Unknown 52.50%

Other 2.50%

Cap 12.50%

Not Recorded 5.00%

Material Defect 2.50%

Gopher/rodent/worm damage 0.00%

Unknown - Not Excavated, Replaced 0.00%

Unknown - Abandoned 0.00%

Corrosion 0.00%

Total 100.00%

PVC Failures by Location

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PHMSA 2012 Annual Report Data: 12,241 Miles of PVC Main

PPDC active submitters have 4,085 Miles of PVC Main

PHMSA annual report data downloaded 2/10/14

PVC Failure Causes

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Cause

% of Total

Failures/Leaks

Excessive Expansion/Contraction 3.26%

Excessive External Earth Loading 14.57%

Installation Error 25.76%

Squeeze Off 0.33%

Point Loading 3.59%

Previous Impact 0.43%

Unknown 8.37%

Other 4.13%

Cap 0.43%

Not Recorded 7.72%

Material Defect 31.20%

Gopher/rodent/worm damage 0.00%

Unknown - Not Excavated, Replaced 0.00%

Unknown - Abandoned 0.00%

Corrosion 0.22%

Total 100.00%

PEIncluding DuPont & Uponor, Aldyl A

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PHMSA 2012 Annual Report Data: 644.759 Miles of PE Main

PPDC active submitters have 482,344 Miles of PE Main

PE Including DuPont & Uponor, Aldyl A, Causes

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Cause

% of All PE

Failures/Leaks

% of PE Less

DuPont &

Uponor

Failures/ Leaks

% of PE Less

Century,

Dupont &

Uponor

Failures/Leaks

Excessive Expansion/Contraction 0.47% 0.57% 0.57%

Excessive External Earth Loading 8.02% 3.66% 3.68%

Installation Error 26.81% 26.46% 26.51%

Squeeze Off 1.86% 1.39% 1.40%

Point Loading 7.00% 4.17% 4.18%

Previous Impact 1.73% 2.85% 2.86%

Unknown 12.99% 17.53% 17.60%

Other 19.57% 10.72% 10.68%

Cap 7.88% 13.01% 13.09%

Not Recorded 2.89% 4.44% 4.45%

Material Defect 8.19% 13.32% 13.08%

Gopher/rodent/worm damage 0.44% 0.89% 0.89%

Unknown - Not Excavated, Replaced 0.69% 0.73% 0.73%

Unknown - Abandoned 0.10% 0.12% 0.12%

Corrosion 1.37% 0.16% 0.16%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

DuPont & Uponor, Aldyl A

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DuPont and Uponor, Aldyl A, piping is not identified as separate from

other types of polyethylene in the PHMSA Annual Report information.

However, the PPDC includes DuPont and Uponor as manufacturers

– Aldyl A is more than 50% of the database.

DuPont & Uponor, Aldyl A, Causes

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Cause

% of Total DuPont

& Uponor

Failures/ Leaks

% of Total DuPont

& Uponor Pipe

Failures/ Leaks

% of Total DuPont

& Uponor Fitting

Failures/ Leaks

% of Total DuPont

& Uponor Joint

Failures/ Leaks

Excessive Expansion/Contraction 0.4% 0.6% 0.2% 1.0%

Excessive External Earth Loading 10.7% 17.3% 6.5% 9.8%

Installation Error 25.5% 14.3% 25.6% 64.6%

Squeeze Off 2.1% 5.6% 0.0% 0.1%

Point Loading 8.8% 19.9% 1.4% 6.5%

Previous Impact 0.8% 2.1% 0.1% 0.1%

Unknown 9.4% 8.7% 9.0% 11.5%

Other 24.9% 22.4% 30.1% 1.1%

Cap 5.3% 0.0% 10.8% 0.0%

Not Recorded 1.6% 2.0% 1.2% 2.5%

Material Defect 7.5% 3.0% 12.3% 2.6%

Gopher/rodent/worm damage 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0%

Unknown - Not Excavated, Replaced 0.6% 1.6% 0.1% 0.2%

Unknown - Abandoned 0.1% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0%

Corrosion 2.1% 2.1% 2.8% 0.0%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

DuPont & Uponor, Aldyl A, Failures by Year in Service

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Century Failures

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Century Failures by Cause

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Cause

% of Total

Century

Failures/Leaks

% of Century

Pipe Failures/

Leaks

% of Century

Fitting

Failures/Leaks

% of Century

Joint

Failures/Leaks

Excessive Expansion/Contraction 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Excessive External Earth Loading 0.5% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0%

Installation Error 20.6% 10.7% 28.1% 46.2%

Squeeze Off 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Point Loading 1.4% 2.5% 0.0% 0.0%

Previous Impact 0.5% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0%

Unknown 6.1% 5.8% 7.8% 0.0%

Other 19.6% 28.1% 6.3% 15.4%

Cap 0.9% 0.0% 3.1% 0.0%

Not Recorded 0.9% 0.0% 3.1% 0.0%

Material Defect 49.5% 51.2% 51.6% 38.5%

Gopher/rodent/worm damage 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Unknown - Not Excavated, Replaced 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Unknown - Abandoned 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Corrosion 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Examples of Questions Received by PPDC

Question from PHMSA: Do socket fusion failures appear in the database?

Response from PPDC: Yes, socket fusions are a type of joint. 3% of all failures are socket fusions and of those 60% are known to be ½” to 1” CTS size.

Question from the PMC PPDC Feedback Task Group: Is there a way to generally say how much PE is Aldyl A?

Response from the PPDC: Aldyl represents approximately 62% of the PE reports in the database. The definition of “Aldyl” used for PPDC data analysis is the data reported as being manufactured by DuPont and Uponor. For additional information about Aldyl, see Appendix D.

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What does this data mean to you?192.1007 requires that an operator must demonstrate an understanding of its gas distribution system developed from reasonably available information

• PPDC Status Report includes analysis of specific, nationwide, data

– Failures/Leaks on newly installed pipe– ABS, PVC and PE leaks by component and cause– DuPont & Uponor– Century– AMP– 3306

–Manufacturers Database

– Plastic Piping Timeline27

What does this data mean to you?192.1007 requires that an operator must consider reasonably available information to identify existing and potential threats.

5 historically known areas of concern are reflected in the PPDC database:

• Century Utility Products polyethylene (PE) pipe produced from 1970

through 1974

• DuPont Aldyl® A low ductile inner wall PE pipe manufactured from 1970

through 1972

• PE pipe manufactured from PE 3306 resin such as Swanson, Orangeburg

and Yardley

• DuPont Aldyl® service punch tee with a white Delrin® polyacetal threaded

insert

• Plexco service tee with Celcon® polyacetal threaded cap

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What does this data mean to you?

For accelerated replacement programs of vintage plastic piping

• PPDC Status Report includes analysis of specific data– ABS, PVC and PE leaks by component and cause– DuPont & Uponor– Century– PE 3306– AMP fittings

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How might States use the info?

• States might use the list of active submitters to see which companies in their state are or are not participating

• States might use the PPDC analysis publicly available to inquire whether those issues are relevant to a certain operator, and if so, what is being done about it in the context of DIMP

• Responses to questions may also aid in determining what issues to expect

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For more information, consult AGA’s website at Operations & Engineering/

Plastic Piping Data Collection Initiativehttp://www.aga.org/Kc/OperationsEngineering

/ppdc/Pages/default.aspx

Contact: Kate Miller at (202) 824-7342

orkmiller@aga.org

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Questions?

Thank you for your support of the Plastic Pipe Database Initiative

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