Information Circular 9279: The Lifecycle Analysis of Materials Competition for Pipe in the Construction Industry

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ginley, D. ; Joyce, C. ; Kraemer, S. R.
• Description:
  Consumption of plastics has been growing in both the U.S. and world markets since the mid-1930's. This growth is due to plastics being used to make new products and as a replacement material for existing products. This U.S. Bureau of Mines paper develops an understanding of the replacement process by looking at the use of plastic, specifically pvc (polyvinyl chloride), in the construction pipe industry. History details the growth of the plastics industry, and a discussion of the material selection process indicates the advantages and disadvantages of plastic pipe. Analysis shows that the use of plastic as an alternative material for pipe is having a significant effect on the cast iron, copper, clay, and steel industries. For the purpose of understanding the replacement process, three example residential systems were examined with a lifecycle cost analysis being performed. Pvc was the material of choice in 1988 for all systems. Even though disposal cost was the one area where pvc was not the most cost effective, disposal costs were not sufficient to offset the overall advantage of using pvc on an economic basis. That plastic competes effectively with other materials, in terms of material properties and cost, indicates that further work should be performed to understand the impact plastics have on other material markets. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Occupational Health Recycling Safety
• Keywords:
  Construction-industry Construction-materials Cost-analysis Cost-effectiveness Economic-analysis Life-cycle-cost Pipes-Tubes Piping-systems Plastic-pipes Structural-plastics
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Subseries:
  Information Circular
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  MAFO - Minerals Availability Field Office
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  42 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:10008583
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB92-177609
• Citation:
  Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, IC 9279, 1991 Jan; :1-34
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1991
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, IC 9279
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3e8973ce6e7b4076d0809502a535dc303bda293dd94e45b1757932075133aaf261b415f0972ae5a458beb38d1ca5373dbd35a9ec16e7f9f75f3b931434a4aad2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/206226/cdc_206226_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.18 MB ]