A valuable resource to the plumbing industry

for nearly 60 years

BY BILL LAVAN

Special to The Wholesaler

Recently, representatives from the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI) helped lead the passing of proposed revisions to astm A888 and astm A74 -- the codes that guide the manufacture of no-hub and hub and spigot cast iron soil pipe and fittings, respectively. 

Among the changes that passed:

• Pipe and fittings shall not be patched, filled or welded by the manufacturer to repair cosmetic or material defects that occur during the course of manufacturing.
• Pipe and fittings shall not be coated with paint containing lead which exceeds levels above 0.06% (600 ppm) as defined in the Lead Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act.
• Manufacturers utilizing third party certification agencies shall provide copies of the third party inspection reports when requested as part of their certification. Third party certifiers shall perform regular inspections at the manufacturer’s production facility, including random inspections of the manufacturer’s finished goods inventory for each size of pipe produced and a minimum of 10 fittings patterns.

The changes were necessary because in this age of globalization, it is increasingly important that standards meet industry best practices and are uniformly enforced by the code community. It is the only way to ensure cast iron customers that regardless of who made the material, the pipe and fittings they purchase meet the threshold of quality they’ve come to expect.

You might think that these long-established manufacturing methods are so obvious that there would be no need to enforce them. For example, domestic soil pipe makers make sure that no radioactive materials make their way into their products, and use asbestos-free paint on their pipe and fittings. No one ever felt the need to require that cast iron pipe and fittings must be manufactured from radiation-free raw materials; all manufacturers understood that they would never risk including such materials in their pipe.

But in the last few years, the industry has seen some importation of pipe and fittings from around the world, many times with no easy way for contractors or engineers to detect the company or foundry that made the product. Since these products are coming from different countries with different or inconsistent industry practices, it became obvious that many of the U.S. industry’s most basic and important features needed to be codified. 

Participating in codes and standards bodies and committees is just one of the many ways that CISPI serves the plumbing industry. Organized in 1949 by the leading American manufacturers of cast iron soil pipe and fittings, the Institute is dedicated to aiding and improving the plumbing industry through the preparation and distribution of technical information, renewing and updating specifications, providing technical assistance on jobsites and conducting quality control programs.

CISPI is well known and well regarded within the plumbing industry. A recent survey showed that most plumbing engineers and inspectors view CISPI as an important resource to the plumbing industry and a useful source for information on issues related to the use of cast iron and compliance with CISPI and astm standards.

The Institute’s Quality Control Program is of particular importance and value to the industry. Created in the early 1960s, CISPI technicians make three unannounced inspections of member company inventories per year to check dimensional accuracy, metallurgical data and record keeping requirements. Nsf International recently approved CISPI’s quality control program to validate the compliance of member products with the CISPI 301 and astm A74 Standards.  Nsf also certified that CISPI’s member-company cast iron soil pipe and fitting products, inspected by the Institute and nsf, are compliant with these standards.  The addition of nsf’s certification adds an oversight to this on-going quality control program and provides an added assurance that products made by CISPI-member companies are compliant with the product standards.

Some engineers and contractors may wonder why CISPI has such a rigorous quality control inspection program. If they see the astm A74 or A888 marked on a piece of pipe, they may automatically assume that someone other than the manufacturer has inspected the material and verified compliance with the standard. That is simply not true.  Contrary to popular belief, cast iron soil pipe products are not inspected by astm and the astm numbers that are typically marked on the products are not even required by the standards. Certification is the manufacturer’s responsibility -- the entity that poured the iron -- and cannot be delegated to a seller or a third party after the fact.

Requiring products to conform to applicable manufacturing standards is essential in today’s world of global outsourcing. The news headlines demonstrate all too well what can happen if they are not followed. Customers should have the peace of mind of knowing that manufacturers have diligently followed all the necessary quality control requirements embedded in the standards. 

ASTM and CISPI standards for pipe and fittings require consistent tensile strength, chemical and dimensional testing and radiation testing of raw materials.  These tests must be done during the manufacturing process by the manufacturer to ensure consistent quality and to be in compliance with the standard.  Anything less will not adequately protect the customer.                   

Bill LeVan is the executive vice president of the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, a not for profit trade association of the cast iron soil pipe manufacturers. LeVan regularly attends all of the model code meetings and serves on one of the model code change committees. He has been in the cast iron pipe industry for more than 30 years.