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Asbestos in drinking water: What does it mean for human health? (www.bbc.com)

submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

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Hundreds of thousands of miles of pipes made from asbestos cement deliver drinking water to people around the world, but are reaching the end of their lifespan and starting to degrade. Scientists are now debating whether this could pose a risk to human health.

"The water pipe burst on the top of the hill and flooded into the gas network," remembers Alan Walker, owner of the Village Stores in Stannington, a suburb of Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District in England. "By the morning, people were turning on their gas hobs and water was coming out. It was one of the worst winters we had. We were one of the last houses to be reconnected, 13 days later."

He is recalling an incident from December 2022. The burst water main affected more than 3,000 homes, and around 10,000 people in Stannington. More than a year on, it should be just a bad memory of a cold and unpleasant winter. But the water burst highlighted another nagging concern.

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[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 28 points 7 months ago

Cancer, I would imagine. The fuck kind of headline is this?

[-] MicroWave@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

To be more specific:

Asbestos is a known carcinogen to humans, meaning it is capable of causing cancer. When asbestos fibres become airborne and are inhaled, they are known to lodge in the lungs and other parts of the airways, where they can cause scarring, inflammation, asbestosis – an inflammatory condition leading to permanent lung damage – and cell damage that lead to cancers, including mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining that covers organs such as the lungs. For decades, however, the risk from swallowing asbestos has been thought of as small as most fibres were assumed to pass through the gut and be expelled in faeces.

[-] HikingVet@lemmy.ca 7 points 7 months ago

Well, we are about to find out if that assumption is true with a very large study size.

[-] astral_avocado@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Why wouldn't we also assume the fibers would get stuck somewhere in the digestive tract?

[-] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

A really fucking bad one.

[-] Xavier@lemmy.ca 5 points 7 months ago

Wow, asbestos pipes, that's something new I learned today…

Total genius move by whomever designed it and the organization that approved/certified it for human potable water use.

How am I still surprised by these things, long ago we once thought lead pipes were perfect for moving/transporting potable water (apparently, one of the many things that contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire).

Nowadays, high density polyethylene pipes are selling like hotcakes and certified for potable water use. Will we find, in a few decades, that micro-plastics are more prevalent than expected and cause innumerable long term health issues? Hence, the new thing to avoid like the Black Plague.

What is wrong with plain old copper pipes, outside of just being expensive due to low supply vs huge demand? (I may have missed the news on how they too affect health)

[-] Welt@lazysoci.al 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Lead pipes aren't so bad. It's lead as an ion rather than an element that's the problem. The lead that led to the dumbenising and collapse of Rome was actually lead acetate, which is sweeter than sugar. They added it to wine, believe it or not. Then you get the Pb2+ ions in your bloodstream and you start to watch Fox News.

[-] Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago

I believe in Rome they watched Circus Vulpes

[-] Meron35@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

Copper is very well known for being really toxic to all organisms. Too much copper intake can lead to gastrointestinal issues in the short term, kidney and liver problems in the long term. Most effective algaecides for pools are copper based.

The Negative Effects of Copper in Your Drinking Water - https://haguewaterofmd.com/the-negative-effects-of-copper-in-your-drinking-water/

[-] Welt@lazysoci.al 2 points 7 months ago

Defund the coppers!

[-] cmbabul@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Probably a litany?

[-] moitoi@feddit.de 1 points 7 months ago

When you see all the precautions they take when dismantling a roof made of asbestos plates, the pipes aren't good for the human health.

this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2024

119 points (99.2% liked)

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