Residents concerned after asbestos found in Vancouver Island water pipes
Tap water at Kevin Fitzpatrick’s mechanic shop in Langford likely comes from nearby asbestos cement pipes.
“It makes you worry, it makes you wonder,” said Fitzpatrick upon hearing that news outside Fitz's Walker Power.
There are eight kilometres of asbestos cement pipes in Langford. The piping was installed decades ago, when the material was favoured for its durability.
The pipes are reaching the end of their lives, so the Capital Regional District, which provides drinking water to southern Vancouver Island, is replacing them.
Fitzpatrick says the notion of asbestos cement pipes concerns him. “If that’s the case, test the water, get on it,” he said.
CTV’s W5 discovered that thousands of kilometres of asbestos cement pipes are in place in at least 85 communities across Canada, including on Vancouver Island, notably in communities like Langford, Colwood, Nanaimo, Qualicum Beach and Ladysmith.
There’s growing concern that as those pipes age, asbestos could leach into the drinking water.
“We are constantly getting more and more evidence, some of it going back 50 years, but more and more evidence that it can cause gastrointestinal tract cancers,” said Arthur Frank, a public health professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Inhaling asbestos is proven to cause cancer. Ingesting or drinking it is less clear. The European Union is advocating its member states remove the pipes.
However, Health Canada maintains there’s no consistent evidence that drinking asbestos is harmful.
“I am concerned people can get cancer from ingestion, including from asbestos in water pipes,” said Frank.
W5 tested the drinking water in Winnipeg and Regina, discovering the presence of asbestos in both cities. There’s no federal or provincial requirements to test for asbestos in water, and no maximum limit of asbestos allowed by regulation.
The CRD says the water it provides to the region meets all federal, provincial and Island Health standards. It tells CTV News it doesn’t test for asbestos, however, and says it doesn’t do so because it's not required to.
In Nanaimo, there’s more than 100 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes. The city has tested for asbestos in the drinking water since the 1990s, leaving Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog confident residents are safe.
“The risk to the public, I would argue, is zero to pretty much nil, in the circumstances,” said Krog Monday, while drinking a glass of water.
“People are safe to drink Nanaimo's water, which is frankly, and I say with pride, about the best water you'll find anywhere in North America.”
The CRD plans to replace all asbestos cement pipes throughout the West Shore by 2055.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Storage shed or shipping container? B.C. Supreme Court settles long-running bylaw dispute
A long-running dispute over whether a structure on a Surrey property violates a city bylaw that prohibits shipping containers on residential lots has been settled by the B.C. Supreme Court