People are not at increased risk of cancer if their drinking water contains very small amounts of asbestos. The measures are therefore not necessary, the Health Council reported on Tuesday after an investigation.
According to the Council, “even at much higher concentrations the risk of, for example, stomach and intestinal cancers does not increase.”
Asbestos cement was previously used for drinking water pipes. This has not been allowed since 1993, but replacing the pipes is a lot of work. Asbestos fibers from these pipes can end up in tap water due to wear and tear or work.
After measurements, the Health Board concludes that the concentrations are generally so low “that it was not possible to determine the presence of asbestos fibres”. Even though the concentrations are thousands of times higher, there is still no increased risk of cancer. So we can simply drink the water and prepare food with it.
The research was carried out at the request of the then Under-Secretary of State for Infrastructure and Water Management, after the PS asked parliamentary questions in 2020.
At that time the Netherlands had around 28,000 kilometers of drinking water pipes containing asbestos cement. This equated to almost a quarter of all tubes. About 200 kilometers of pipes containing asbestos cement are replaced every year, the ministry reports.
2024-01-23 09:31:12
#small #amounts #asbestos #drinking #water #pose #health #risk #Good #news
