Asbestos in drinking water: An overlooked health risk?

bbc.com

21 points·etimberg··6 comments

Doesn't seem like there's a smoking gun here — TBH I'd be more worried about lead pipes, which still exist and are known to be pretty bad. (And disinfectant byproducts in drinking water like chloroform, which are startling high, have known mechanisms of action that cause cancer when ingested orally, and have minimal if any phaseout plan.)

If we were still using asbestos to build new pipes that might be worth looking into, but since it's already phased out and the studies on harm in drinking water aren't conclusive... It seems like there are better uses of effort to improve health via drinking water changes.

The fibres from asbestos infiltrate your body, they can't be removed and they cause cancer.

If it occurs when you breathe them in, it will occur when you drink them.

Mesothelioma is nasty way to die. It is worth the effort.

"If it occurs when you breathe them in, it will occur when you drink them."

That doesn't make sense. Lungs are nothing like the digestive system.

Sigh. The lungs use surface area to transfer oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide. The digestive tract uses large surface area to transfer nutrients and water into the blood. One deals with gasses the other with solids and liquids. Both have soft tissues for asbestos fibres to penetrate.

Once they do, they cannot be broken down by your body, and they will eventually cause damage like mesothelioma.

I hope that explains my point.

Isn't asbestos safe until it breaks. But what happens in water leaks?

Is there anyone that is using asbestos in new developments or is it phased out and just "laying there"?

Decent reason to have additional water filtration for drinking water.

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