Document QJqNNa04VqmX9GBgRKr0K2bXo

f i I 9i t J ' im, i toft-- LEAD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION *to Lixmtmw avmi NwyoMir.Kti xrrrox posucmai ampxgo cotegocno-- U M. wy, Publie Halation* XapraaoxtatiM Pl*hlng Contractors' Association of China-- than Bob Xlegfald askad as to talk to you about Act la going on in tha r1rMMwt and water diatributioo flali aa It ralataa to tho us* of lead, 1 hsaitated to uadertaks tha asalgment tor too reasons. In tha first pise* It is difficult for wy 00* man to ba thoroughly fdllsr with all parts of tha oountry as practice* vary quit* widely free section to section and to knowledge there are no reliable statistics available on cotmnptiou of various Materials ty these lndostrlas. In the socood place, since tha Floating Contractor** Association of Chicago, #ton I represent, deal with all pinching mater ials, I do not want to bacon* involved In any embarrassing discussion* as batareen tha different materials. However, Bob assured m that all you want Is facta and X don't think aiybody oan object to ay giving you those as I sea thas. Over a period of *y years in the pitching industry, as 4 pluziber, 4 city official, and an officer and director of the A&erican Society of Sanitary Engineering, I have had a good opportunity to via* trends in placblng and water works practice. During that time there have been eery changes. One* lead and cast iron with lead joint* w* unquestionably the standard planting and water distribution materials. After fforli Bar I a new trend developed. Other metals, 21k* galvaniied Iron and steal, cane into aor* general use. A littla later copper tubing was added as a eaaprtitor in water diatrlUitlon. Today it has also beccae a competitor in plucking, soil and waste pip*. Such materials as transits. Impregnated fiber and others are coveting with laad-oalkad east iron. Presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting, toed Industries Association, April 13-lb, 1950, Chicago, Illinois, at the Panel Discussion of Lead WkpwwiI N 3271 . ,.. ., . .-- . wiiin iiPiiiiwi u s w inii.ae pij m m mi iij w w - . ' ;/ LI A16229 11 *K7iTiSiwfcijP^j6iailfcdfci^aitffeaateit^-~^.'ti&rh -j i i ill this baa bn reflected la tha mount of load used as pipe, fitting* and calking lead, In genaral tha newer materials here a Invar first cost and do not require tha tarn degree of akill to Install* Ksvertheleis tha lnnata qualities of laad hare served to keep an appro- i clabla aeount of it in use, J*nj citls* still require laad for vatar srr-rica tips, Chicago is one* Others greatly restrict tha use of any thing but laad and cast iron for lnrlda plumbing. It thlc point 1 night explain, for the benefit of those of 700 sho are not does to the pluahdng Industry, Jost hoe the *atariale end mthods need in pishing are controlled, Tha materials that aay be need la tl pitching system ere generally set up In detail In the plnnhing code, Aich is e city ordinance, nm nnmm+imm* a nnnntw n- state lav. tlaa. the vater aarvlee pipe matariv lal, that is the pipe from the street sain to the houee, is, in saee cases, controlled ty the pluahlng eode and In others by tha regulations of the vater department or vater oaipaiy* Therefore, in order that aqy aterlal nay be used it ie anally accessary first to see that it is permitted ly tha plrebring coda or vater depertaent regulations* Lead is permitted by practically every plumbing code end vater department regulation* I wwphasiee tha word peraitted* beoeuee of the fact that it la peraitted does not necessarily mean that it will be used- Other materials aey also be peraitted* In the old days only a few materials we included in the codes end lead was one of then* Therefore, load was used in aoet plfhine Installations, is rww materials hare been developed, codas in general have been broadened to Include aaiy of these materials also, CcssequerAly, as tiro has gone on , although laad le still permitted, It has met more and aoro competition fron ether saterials *lch, la ntBjr cases, are either cheaper la cost, or cheaper to Install* Thus less tad lees lead, in preportion to the total, bee been used la Bare recent years* This trend is by no Beane uniform. There are certain parts of the country *lch have strenuously resisted the introduction of never materials and there are other parts vhieh have gene over to the never materials entirely. Conditions vary greatly between two neighboring cities* Thus today you have e situation in aesoe cities, end in some sections of the country, where it 1s almost a suet* to nee laad in the plashing aysten and other places T&ere, although lead is pendtted, it sp nog be used at all, or only to a very minor exteat* further, to complicate the situation in reount years there have been extensive efforts to prepare national planting codes* Several such codes have been drafted ty various organisations, recently. These national codoe are intended as models for cities to adopt in thiir emt ordinances with the idea of acre cr lees etanurdixirg plumbing so that the aaoe procedures will bo followed In all p vtn of tha country. The organisations sponsoring thcce oodoa naturally ore making great effort* to have the* adopted locally. Because they are national codec their provision* are, naturally, very broad end when it oemas to specifying 1 1> waji iy i if y nfihsaii Yiir--#**# 'iaferrJfc.ti^el.U..& rfcA^.t diiiir^aiXliMSiL* Tnt,nig>(wSi^x^i ->- material# they specify practically every material that ia in use anywhere. This Hni that If adopted in those sections of tba oourstry which ere now important load usere, las* and lea* lead may b aoployed. It la* hcsovwr* not cocMiary for a city to adopt thca in full for asgr city using than aa a model eon ulct lta om modification#, cither ai to method# or notarial#* Another thing militating again*t tho ecntirejod usa of lead in eartain ports of tho ocuntry ii tha end of war-tim# shortage# of all aorta of material*. In a aoarch for markets* the manufacturer# of thoao materials are making erery effort to hrro their aatoriala permitted ty pleating eodes *#ilch nor roatrlet their us*. So* tho upshot of It all ia that tho pltmMng coda rttum. tlon all crrer the country la now in a atata of turmoil. Hundred# of r Cm rrlrlwM* w# UmIt c z* *j niv twv m tha few naterlala that la permitted by practically erery coda* naturally stand* to loao more than other material! if code provialona are broadened with respect to the material! permitted. What I her* said about pitmUwg codaa ia equally true of enter department regulations. JLa 2 see the altuatioa looking et it from your atarrtpoint sa produoere of lead and lead products* lead is inn critical position* 1% cnee bad the field pretty much to itself but conditions hare three* it narc and acre into the competitive market. There la no question but that tha work of the Lead Industries Association has dons much to keep lead sa important factor in the picture* >>evertheloos* erents in the Last few years* mare than ever before, threaten your market in tho pi--*Log and water distribution field. I don't see aiy reason why lsed oaa not centime to be an lcpcrtact material for p'*'--*'* and water diatri* button, but certainly it will require great effort on the pert of tha lead Industry* (1) to maintain the pro-ceincncs of load in thcaa localities where it still ia tho preferred material* end (2) to have people use lead in competition with other material! In thee# localitiaa where anything (oee. I realise that I have not aupported the generalities *iioh I here stated with soy figure!* vfriich is impossible to do. In support of ty statements I could quote from the plemhiag eodes of a cumber of cities which would clearly show you bow great la the variation so far as material requirements are concerned from city to city. m Chicago, for instance* wo are required to use lead fer eater service pipe of 2-inch or leas* but we can use other materials for plwfclng within the building. In Houston* Texas* on tba other hand* Just tba reverse la true. In Indianapolis* one does net have to use ary lead but in tha State of KontucJgr there has to be at least six Inches of lead in every fixture connection. IMs will just give yen * rough Idea of how ocnplicated thing# are* further to complicate tha situation is tha fact that lead requires a skilled mechanic to install* *ilch makes it necessary, if lead is to continue in use in large quantity* to train the mechanic# coning Into the plumbing industry to be good lead worker#. 1 .. 11*1 ir^Bail^r. a' ta&trt> ,,mtm Miai ^mrnmwmmmrn L IA 16231 a*w<Mbrliiii,"W.-UK mrOSHW.... M.- 9 This would seea to sake a rather glooqr picture to yon people la the lead busireas, but 1 do not think It reed omiltfU/ be so, As I eaid before, lead has certain norite wtileh justify lie use in a great many pluablnr installations, but Ilka ary Material, it can not sail itself in the face of the IntensiT* competition which it nust aeet in plunking today. 1 belies* that you can continue to enjoy a substantial buainets in plusfrlng and water varies field* if, and only if, your industry puts its boat foot forward* Despits the fact that the pluabing Industry has alwaye recognised lead as one of the essential Material* for the craft, attempts are being made today in Macy localities to Minis!to existing pitailing cod* requireaents, regardleis of the safety of the eitiseae of the onweinlty, So it behoofs the seabere of the Lead Industries Ibscci.tiled iM all vuw wranohws of the riuabiag Zoduswy io aojuuia the public and city officials with the laportane* sad necessl^ of rigid code enfaroeaent of good safe Material* and installation la the interest of public health protection. mmuppwff PP"1