It Could Pay To Check Your Plumbing System (NAPSA)—If your house, mobile home or other structure had its plumbing system installed between January 1978 and July 1995, you may have some potentially valuable work to do this weekend—thoroughly checking your plumbing system. What you’re lookingfor is polybutylene (“PB”) plastic pipe. If you are one of the thousands of Americans whose residence has a PB pipe system that has leaked, is leaking now or may leak in the future, you may be eligible for a replacement plumbing system at absolutely no cost. HowTo Spot A Plastic Pipe PB plumbing systemsare distinguished by flexible, gray plastic pipes joined by plastic or metal fittings held in place by small aluminum or copper bands, about the size of a man’s wedding band. These can be located inside a home, the attic, crawl space or water heater closet, often buried beneath insulation materials. Outside a home, blue, gray or black piping at the water meter or pipe entry site may indicate the presence of a qualifying PB yard serviceline. Owners of properties with a PB plumbing system should call the Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center (CPRC) toll-free at 1-800392-7591 or visit www.pbpipe.com. The Website contains all pertinent information needed to file a claim, including a Claims Eligibility Form, which may be completed online. What To Do “Homeowners with leaking PB pipe, particularly those who bought their homes within the past 36 months, need to call us or access the Web site as soon as they can,” said Tim Taylor, CPRC General Manager. “We are eager to inform them about the relief they are eligible to receive and to help them establish eligibility for the simple and streamlined replacement process.” PB pipe was installed in millions of residential properties in the U.S. beginning in the late 1970s, but it was never used for drains, waste or vent piping, yard sprinkler systems, irrigation systems, fire sprinkler systems, sewer lines, faucets or fixtures. PB pipe should also not be confused with PVC or CPVC products, that are rigid and white or @ off-white plastic. Since 1995, more than 330,000 property owners across the United States have had their leaking PB plastic plumbing replaced at no cost—but there remain thousands of others who have purchased homesor other properties in the last several years that qualify for the same free replacement benefits which others have already received. If a structure that you purchased after August 12, 2002, has PB plumbing and you do not wish to participate in the benefits of the replacement program, you may exclude yourself from obtaining relief under this settlement. You must sign and return an exclusion request form before December 31, 2005. Complete details on how you can exclude yourself are outlined in the Notice of Class Action and Settlement available by calling 1-800-3927591 or visiting www.pbpipe.com. It takes roughly four months from a homeowner’s first contact with the CPRC to a replumbed house. If your plumbing system qualifies, you can select your own plumberor use one of the plumbers recommended by the CPRC.
