Safety Evaluation of New Polymer Materials Proposed for Relining Drinking Water Pipes in the City of Milano

Marinella Palmiotto¹, Giancarlo Bianchi¹, Laura Brunelli¹, Maurizio Lualdi², Carlo Lezzi³, Angela Manenti⁴, Enrico Davoli^1*

¹Department of Environmental Health Sciences, IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milano, Italy.
²Politecnico of Milano, Milano, Italy.
³Beca Engineering S.r.l., Milano, Italy.
⁴Metropolitana Milanese S.p.A., Milano, Italy.

DOI: 10.4236/ijamsc.2015.34008                

Abstract

Relining is a trenchless technology of recoating the inside walls of damaged water pipes using composite materials. In the Safe Pipe project, co-financed by Regione Lombardia, alternative polymeric materials for relining the drinking water distribution system of the city of Milan have been developed. Relining polymers have been evaluated for their toxicity. The identification of product impurities was performed by HPLC/HRMS and GC/MS analysis and safety evaluation was conducted applying toxicity data, when available, or applying QSAR models. Results showed low level of toxic substances in polymerized resins and in water samples in a migration/leaching test performed in a field experiment.

Keywords

Contaminants Identification, Drinking Water Quality, Risk Assessment

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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