Every boy scout that's ever potato gun'd knows his way around PVC, but not all plastics are created equal. Polyethylene is hella common, but I doubt that it's solely an issue of composition. For example, the toxicity of airborne nanoparticles to the lungs is largely a function of surface area to volume ratios (across all materials). And just because it comes into contact with plastic pipes doesn't mean we're guaranteed to have the water significantly leeching anything from them. It's a complicated thing.

Like the article says, what concerns me most is the apparent lack of basic research on the effects of directly ingesting it ourselves, the lack of characterizing sources, what it can transport, blah blah blah. We know it's already in our food supply, but the idea that it hasn't seriously been considered for testing and regulation in our water is kinda not ideal. No, it ain't lead. Yes, I'm annoyingly anti-complacency. And who would have guessed, the guy doing research wants more research, right? I totally get that there are some undertones of paranoia, but whatevs. There are bigger problems in the world right now, but we probably shouldn't completely shelve this one.