State and local governments across America may have to replace their water systems because of defective pipes, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit unsealed this week. The whistle-blower, John Hendrix, accuses his former employer, one of the world's largest pipe manufacturers, of falsifying test results about the quality of its products. Pipes that should last 50 years are in some cases rupturing in their very first year, according to Hendrix and some state documents. This can lead to explosions, leaks, fires and other dangers. Officials of the company, JM Eagle, dispute the allegations and say that the tests were done correctly. Hendrix said he uncovered the problem after he was asked to oversee the certification of a new manufacturing process that put the pipes through a prescribed battery of tests. He concluded that JM Eagle had been selling substandard plastic pipe since 1996, and that it had subsequently manipulated test results. When he told his superiors of his concerns, they said the problems were a normal 'business risk,' according to the complaint. When he pressed harder, he was fired. Hendrix, of Clifton, N.J., then began a whistle-blower lawsuit under federal and state statutes that allow private citizens to file on behalf of government agencies if they suspect a fraud. In his lawsuit, he asserts that less than half of JM Eagle's pipe would have qualified for sale if it had been properly tested. 'It became apparent to me that this was being done intentionally,' he said. Some states, cities and water districts have experienced leaking, cracking and exploding pipes made of PVC, or polyvinyl chloride. Many are joining Hendrix's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in California. So far, Nevada, Virginia, Delaware, Tennessee and more than 40 water authorities in California have decided to participate. The original pipe, made by JM Eagle, had been rupturing several times a year, baffling state officials and costing tens of thousands of dollars a year to repair. Other states and cities are still reviewing the allegations and deciding whether to participate. The cost of repairing or replacing the defective pipes is not known, but could run into many millions of dollars for each of the affected systems. JM Eagle has operated a dozen manufacturing plants across the country, claiming about 60 percent of the nation's market for new water pipes. A JM spokesman, Marcus Galindo, said the company 'stands 100 percent behind the quality of our products.' He said that the company would not have been able to gain such a large share of the market if it had not been satisfying its customers. 