Health Concerns Mount as More Old Sewer Pipes Are Lined with Plastic Residents near renovation sites claim noxious emissions from pipe inserts are making them sick

Two years ago, a worker died on the job while inside an underground pipe being renovated with CIPP. An autopsy seen by this writer stated that the cause of death was drowning but that styrene toxicity contributed to it. The incident prompted an OSHA investigation. As a result, the company paid $55,000 in penalties, in part for exposing employees to levels of airborne styrene exceeding the agency’s worker safety limits. Many photographs show CIPP workers who are not using respirators that could protect them from inhaling emissions, raising questions about the safety culture at job sites.