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Plastics in Infrastructure and the Environment

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Course / Section 3 / Case Study 2

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Case Study 2
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Case Studies due Jul 10, 2021 11:59 +08
Case Study - Heat damaged plastic water pipes, environmental and human health
concerns 
Purpose
To enable students to learn about a topic that pertains to plastics, is of popular interest, and has
infrastructure, and human health implications.
Background
Plastics can be flexible because of their viscoelastic nature and sensitivity to thermal transitions. This is
partly why they are used for piping and conduit applications. Though, these materials are organic and thus
susceptible to thermal degradation. Thermal damage can result in deformation simply due to melting or
combustion where by chemical bonds in the polymer rupture. In recent years’ questions have been asked by
infrastructure owners about the potential for plastics to generate chemical contamination by exposure to
heat under structure fire and wildfire conditions. Evidence shows that heating certain plastics can prompt
the chemical breakdown of the plastic, generate chemicals, and allow them to be released into air and water.
These releases pose health risks to emergency responders such as fire-fighters and users of say the now
contaminated drinking water like building occupants. 

Case Study Videos

Case Study Video 1: CBS This Morning, 2018 (3 minutes)
Start of transcript. Skip to the end.

Six months after California's Camp Fire, water is contaminated and…

and…

While we know that power lines started

that fire,
A different type of threat is affecting
plans to rebuild the town.
As we mentioned, the campfire killed
(Caption will be displayed when you start playing the more than 80 people

video.) 27,000 people once lived there,
But only about 1,500 have returned.
As Jonathan Vigliotti shows us, a danger
in the water system
 0:00 / 3:17  1.0x    
is causing new problems for residents.
Transcripts
Download SubRip (.srt) file
Download Text (.txt) file

Case Study Video 2: Paradise Lost, CBS 60 Minutes, 2018 (14 minutes)
Start of transcript. Skip to the end.

Paradise Lost: Inside California's Camp Fire, 60 Minutes' 2018 report

 60 Minutes Rewind
REPORTER: The Morning of November
8th,
a massive wildfire tore through California
mountain communities north of
(Caption will be displayed when you start playing the Sacramento.

video.) Because it started near Camp Creek
Road,
it was called The Campfire.
 0:00 / 13:52  1.0x     The cause is still under investigation.
But within a couple of hours it devoured
Transcripts
Download SubRip (.srt) file
Download Text (.txt) file

Case Study Readings

Public press
CalMatters, November 2020
Testing the Waters article, May 2019
Scientific papers
Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology article, 2020
Other resources students can consult, not required  
Journal of the American Water Works Association article, 2018
Journal of Hazardous Materials article, 2017
Journal of Toxics article, 2018
Purdue Engineering

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