# Detectable tape

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{{Short description|Buried utility safety device}}
thumb|Detectable tape, here used to mark the location of a plastic pipe containing electrical wires.
'''Detectable tape''' or '''Underground warning tape''' is a conductive tape typically applied over buried utilities made of non-conductive materials such as [plastic](/source/plastic), [fiberglass](/source/fiberglass), or [cement](/source/cement).  It is used because most [utility location](/source/utility_location) methods work best on conductive objects, and hence may easily miss structures made of non-conductive materials.

The tape also serves as a physical warning.  If uncovered during digging, it alerts the user to an underground object that might be damaged by further excavation.  To aid in this, it is typically [colored to reflect the nature of the buried object that it is protecting](/source/Utility_location).

It is common for construction specifications to mandate the use of such tape.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/doc/10.1.1.204.989|title=Unified Facilities Guide Specifications |citeseerx=10.1.1.204.989 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Fiber Optic Cable Establishment on Road Network |url=https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/g_Mr%20Murat%20Barut.pdf}}</ref>

The conductive material in detectable tapes is typically [aluminium](/source/aluminium), but there have been studies investigating replacing this with a material which is both magnetic and conductive, to make it detectable to a wider variety of utility location techniques.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trid.trb.org/view/1492885 |title=Application of Amorphous Metals for Plastic Pipeline Detection|date=31 August 2017 |last1=Martin |first1=Christopher L. |last2=Dunham |first2=David J. |last3=Sprengelmeyer |first3=Daniel J. |last4=Theisen |first4=Eric }}</ref>

==See also==
*[Underground Service Alert](/source/Underground_Service_Alert), an organization that specializes in marking underground utilities.

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Color codes
Category:Public utilities
Category:Subterranea (geography)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Detectable tape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detectable_tape) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detectable_tape?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.