The status of PEX in California is confused, due to a California appeals court ruling in Nov. 2004 that overturned its inclusion in the state's 2001 plumbing code without an environmental review. Dick Church, executive director of the Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association, nonetheless contends the ruling doesn't prohibit the state from including PEX in the 2004 edition. The battle against PEX is being led by the California Pipe Trades Council, a union group, which has recruited the Sierra Club and California Professional Firefighters Association to back their claim that PEX presents potential health hazards. An estimated 180 California cities and counties have invoked their own authority to approve the use of PEX within their jurisdictions.