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Abstract
Asbestos is not uncommon in water, usually originating from asbestos‐cement pipes or asbestos‐containing aquifers. Although asbestos concentrations are typically less than one million fibers per liter, concentrations have occasionally exceeded one billion fibers per liter. Some epi‐demiological and laboratory‐animal studies have revealed an association of asbestos ingestion with various types of cancer, while other studies have not. Ingested asbestos, usually short fibers, is capable of penetrating the intestinal wall and being eliminated in urine or accumulating in various tissues and organs. Elevated asbestos concentrations have recently been detected in colon cancers of asbestos workers. Drinking‐water systems should attempt to minimize asbestos concentrations by focusing on actual or potential sources of asbestos. Transmission electron microscopy is the analytical method of choice but revisions are needed in the U.S. method to accommodate recently promulgated drinking‐water standards. Laboratory studies have demonstrated deleterious effects of waterborne asbestos on individual aquatic organisms, but ecosystem‐wide effects are largely unknown.
