Jul 21, 2017   SOURCE: BusinessWire

ePIPE® Team Granted Three Patent Allowances for the Lead (Pb) Reduction and Leak Prevention to Underground Pipes

Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC (PRT), makers of the ePIPE®, Lead-Free, Leak-Free™ and LeadSmart® product lines, announced that it has received three Notices of Allowances from the U.S. patent office for the company's patent application numbers 15/254324, 15/164268 and 15/449454. These allowances cover the ePIPE process in providing methods of placing a protective barrier coating for leak sealing protection and lead (Pb) reduction in underground drinking water pipes.

Pipes protected with ePIPE reduce the leaching of toxic lead and copper into drinking water to well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) cut-off levels. Pipes from as small as 1/2'' in diameter can be protected in-place using the patented ePIPE system and materials. The protection of lead service lines (LSLs) can be completed under four hours per line and often with no excavation on the home owner’s property.

These patent grants and allowances adds to the company's patent portfolio of over 20 issued patents in various countries, including the U.S.

Water Research Foundation Makes Recommendation

Water Research Foundation Report 4351 released March 2017, recommends coating LSLs be considered an option to replacement. This study was jointly funded by the Water Research Foundation (WRF) and the EPA.

Protecting LSLs in-place in Greater London, UK.

The ePIPE solution has been part of one of the world’s largest lead pipe remediation programs involving some 30,000 lead water supply pipes. LSLs run underground from the water main to the curb stop tap (valve) at each property; that same pipe may also run to the supply tap inside a house.

ePIPE approved to US NSF Std. 61 and UK’s DWI Reg 31 (4)(a) with a 2 hour return to service.

ePIPE’s epoxy coating is one of the fastest NSF Standard 61 and DWI Regulation 31 approved return-to-service epoxy lining products in the world. ePIPE is engineered and patented for protecting drinking water pipes from leaks and bringing lead leaching into compliance to the stringent WHO’s cut off level of 10 ppb (µg/l).

About ePIPE® and LeadSmart®

The patented ePIPE process involves restoring pipes in-place, with an application of an epoxy barrier coating resulting in a restored epoxy lined piping system. The process provides a solution for slab leaks, pinhole leaks, and the reduction of lead leaching from lead pipes and lead contributors. LeadSmart is an on-site lead testing and lead remediation service, leading to a property being LeadSmart Certified. Service providers are located in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, UK and Europe. For more information, contact ACE DuraFlo® Systems at www.epipeinfo.com or (888) 775-0220.