Although asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs naturally, it can be extremely dangerous. Inhaled asbestos fibers have been associated with increased risk of cancer in humans, and asbestos fibers ingested through drinking water are a suspected cancer-causing agent. In the past, asbestos has been used in the manufacture of a number of products used in the construction industry, and it occurs naturally in some water supplies. Asbestos may also enter the drinking water through the distribution system as a result of corrosive action on asbestos cement water pipes. Because of the hazard it poses, EPA has developed regulations that restrict the amount of asbestos that is allowed in a public water system.

Do The Asbestos Regulations Apply to Your Community?

Yes, the asbestos regulations apply to you if your community provides drinking water directly or it is provided by a non-transient, non-community public water supply (e.g. school, business).

Actions Your Community Should Be Taking

Your community should arrange to have a vulnerability assessment performed to determine whether your drinking water system is susceptible to asbestos contamination. A water utility or its consultant can usually perform this assessment and submit the results to the state.

If your system is suspected of having asbestos in the source water only, test at the entry point to the distribution system. If your distribution system contains asbestos cement water pipes, samples should be taken at the tap. If your system is vulnerable from both the source water and the pipes, then test at the tap served by asbestos cement pipe and under conditions where asbestos contamination is likely to occur.

If the assessment finds that asbestos is not likely to occur in your water source, and/or your distribution system is free of asbestos cement pipe, your system may be granted a waiver and you will not have to monitor for asbestos. If your system does have asbestos cement pipe but your water is non-corrosive, you may also be eligible for a waiver. Without a waiver, you will have to monitor for asbestos a minimum of once every nine years.

The maximum contaminant level (MCL) for asbestos is 7 million fibers/liter (longer than 10 micrometers). If your tests indicate levels of asbestos higher than the MCL, you must notify the state agency and the public of that fact, as required. In addition, you should begin quarterly testing to monitor the asbestos levels in the water.

Work with your state agency and/or an engineer to determine if asbestos is in your source water and/or is being leached from your asbestos cement pipe. If asbestos contamination is discovered in your community's drinking water supply system in levels above the MCL, you must eliminate that contamination. There are several options available for remedying asbestos contamination in your community' s drinking water. If asbestos is in your water source, it may be removed with a special process (coagulation/filtration or direct and diatomite filtration). If there is asbestos cement pipe in your system, you may need to provide for corrosion control.

You may also need to plan for repairing asbestos cement pipe in the future, because maintenance workers who come in contact with it may be at risk. Inhaling the dust (fibers) from cutting the pipe is particularly hazardous. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the Department of Labor has published rules concerning occupational exposure to asbestos. If you work with asbestos cement pipe in your community, contact your State Department of Labor for information on compliance requirements associated with these rules.

Timetable

If your public water system is vulnerable for asbestos in the water, you have to take one sample within the first compliance period of each nine?year compliance cycle. The first compliance period was between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1995. If your drinking water supply system was eligible for a waiver, it was your water system' s responsibility to ask the state for a waiver prior to January 1, 1993

Additional Information

The asbestos requirements are published in Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 141.23(b), 141.62(b)(2). The rules of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Occupational Exposure to Asbestos are published in Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 1910 and 1926. Your state agency may be able to provide additional fact sheets on asbestos.

For further information on the federal requirements, contact the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline. Telephone: 1/800/426-4791.

(See Resource Section for drinking water contacts)