Dozens of lawsuits have been filed over CSST, a plastic-coated, flexible, gas line made of corrugated stainless steel tubing and lightning-related gas leaks and fires. CSST was developed to prevent breaks during earthquakes in Japan, however the tubing is being used often in the United States in new home developments.
Fire officials are concerned that electrical charges from nearby lightning strikes can travel along the tubing and cause punctures that are igniting fires and causing gas leaks.
One Philadelphia attorney is involved in dozens of lawsuits over CSST, including a wrongful death lawsuit filed over the death of three children and grandmother in a 2008 fire, allegedly caused by a CSST failure.
A class action lawsuit was filed in Arkansas against several CSST manufacturers and claimed the tubing posed an unreasonable risk of fire from lightening strikes, the Washington Post reported. That case lead to a $29 million settlement in 2006.
The ABA Journal reports that at least one manufacturer is selling the metal tubing wrapped in a special covering that makes it more resistant to the electrical charges caused by lightning strikes. Some builders and CSST manufacturers say that other factors can also contribute to tubing related fires, including whether gas lines are correctly grounded and bonded.
