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Viewpoint – Ingested Asbestos Deemed Benign
Author(s) -
Commins Brian T.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1985.tb05501.x
Subject(s) - asbestos , asbestos fibers , asbestos cement , cement , environmental science , ingestion , waste management , environmental health , medicine , engineering , materials science , metallurgy
This article summarizes the author's findings on the research into the relationship between the ingestion of asbestos fibers and gastrointestinal cancer. Asbestos fibers found in drinking water arise mainly from natural asbestos contamination, effluent discharges to water sources, and the use of asbestos‐cement pipe for distribution systems. The author states that there is no firm evidence for a causal relationship between cancer and asbestos in drinking water. The need for further research to determine a reliable means of predicting the extent of fiber release from asbestos‐cement pipe systems is proposed.