University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Water Resources Center
Abstract
Several published reports indicate that asbestos is found in public drinking water supplies. In order to determine the health effects of ingested asbestos, relevant animal and human studies were reviewed. From these studies, it was not possible to predict potential health hazards associated with ingestion of the levels of asbestos found in drinking water. Detailed examinations of Water samples were carried out by electron microscopy in order to determine the precision of analysis for waterborne asbestos. Asbestos-cement pipes, used to transmit drinking water, were studied under field conditions. No significant release of asbestos was observed. Preliminary work suggests that asbestos is present in Lake Michigan. An investigation of possible sources of asbestos into Lake Michigan indicated that wet deposition of asbestos may be a principal pathway of asbestos contamination of Lake Michigan. A feasibility study was carried out to determine if asbestos is present in rainwater collected in the Chicago area. Chrysotile asbestos was found in Chicago rainwater at a level of 10⁵ to 10⁶ fibers per liter. This finding demonstrates that precipitation scavenges airborne chrysotile asbestos which may result in the contamination of surface waters.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe
