It is two o'clock in the morning. A thunderstorm crackles in thedistance, providing the perfect weather for a deep sleep. That is,unless your business or home contains a building product known ascorrugated stainless steel tubing.

At a moment's notice, a gas-fed blaze may destroy yourproperty.

This scenario is all too common, yet the general public haslittle knowledge of the destructive nature of CSST when exposed tothe foreseeable effects of lightning.

CSST is a flexible fuel gastubing system that was intended to replace black iron pipe as ameans of transporting natural and propane gas from the meteroutside of a structure to the various appliances and machineryfueled by gas.

In the competitive marketplace of residential and commercialconstruction, CSST offered a favorable alternative to black ironpipe at first blush, as it is less labor intensive to install. Theprimary defect with CSST is that the wall thickness of the productis too thin to withstand the electrical energy dissipated bylightning strikes.

In terms of approximate wall thickness, CSST measures a mere.011 inches, while black iron pipe measures .113 inches—10 timesthicker. This characteristic is common to all CSST and is notlimited to a single brand.

Without question, a direct lightning strike has the potential tocause severe damage to any structure. However, an indirect strikeis far more common and, until the advent of CSST, was not commonlyassociated with fires.

When a lightning strike occurs, a tremendous amount ofelectrical energy travels through the earth in an unpredictablemanner. The energy can enter a structure through any conductivepath, such as a water main, gas piping or utility wiring. For amicrosecond, this energy travels through the property, until theelectricity is able to reach ground.

With black iron pipe, this surge of energy presents no problem,as the wall thickness of the iron pipe allows it to absorb suchenergy without failure. However, CSST is incapable of withstandingsuch energy, which consequently seeks to arc to other metalsurfaces (pipes, duct work) in the structure.

When an electrical arc occurs, a small hole is created in theCSST and pressurized natural gas escapes. This gas isinstantaneously ignited by the heat of the event and the result isa blow torch flame reaching lengths of three-to-four feet with anunlimited supply of fuel.

How is it that CSST was installed in structures throughout theUnited States without knowledge of this potential hazard?

When CSST was brought to the United States in the late 1990s,performance evaluations were conducted and CSST passed varioustests relating to the product's corrosive resistance and ability towithstand pressure, as well as its bending capabilities. However,there never was any consideration given to the energy fromlightning because there has never been a reported failure of blackiron pipe under these circumstances.

In fact, the National Electric Code andNational Fuel Gas Code contain no guidance for the protection ofgas systems from lightning energy because these systems enjoyed thehistorically safe protection of black iron pipe which, over aperiod of more than 100 years of continuous use, has proven itselfto be impervious to such electrical insults.

Empirical studies from experts estimate that CSST is over onemillion times more likely to fail than black iron pipe when exposedto the energy from indirect lightning.

According to certain CSSTmanufacturers, when properly bonded to the building electricalsystems, the CSST is capable of withstanding the energy produced byindirect lightning. However, bonding, which is the permanentjoinder of metallic parts to form an electrically conductive path,has never been tested under laboratory or field conditions by theCSST manufacturers or installers to demonstrate its effectivenessin protecting CSST from lightning, or so they claim.

Indeed, the National Fire Protection Association has takennotice of the numerous fires caused by CSST and has formed atechnical committee to study the issue. The goal of the committeeis to determine whether CSST can be safe.

As of June 2010, the technical committee reported receiving information of “limited value” from the CSSTindustry as a whole regarding the effectiveness of bonding. Asa result, the committee is considering an all-out prohibition onthe installation of CSST to be issued in the next version of theNational Fuel Gas Code, due for publication in 2014.

Literally hundreds of residential and commercial fires haveoccurred as a result of the catastrophic failure of CSST. Thesefires have given rise to a number of lawsuits filed against theindividual CSST manufacturers, as well as the installation andgeneral contractors.

In the first case tried to a verdict in October 2010, aChester County, Pa. jury found the CSST product was defective,awarding 100 percent of claimed damages exceeding $1 million.

The case, which was brought by a pair of homeowners and theirinsurer, involved a residential fire that occurred in June of 2007.The homeowners' entire residence and their personal belongings weredestroyed after an indirect lightning strike energized the bondedCSST system in the home. The verdict came after an eight-daytrial.

CSST failures are annually responsible for millions of dollarsin property damage across the United States, and hundreds of claimsare pending against the various manufacturers of CSST.