W5 investigation reveals asbestos cement pipes beneath Winnipeggers' feet
For decades, starting in the 1950s and ’60s the City of Winnipeg laid hundreds of kilometres of asbestos cement pipes across the city. Now those pipes and the asbestos fibres within them are causing concerns.
A recent W5 investigation has found there are 721 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes in Winnipeg, and 25 per cent of the water main networks is also made of the material.
The city was using the asbestos cement pipes in the 1950s and ’60s through to the early 1990s to provide better protection against corrosion.
In the decades since, asbestos fibres have been determined to be deadly if inhaled. Now the hundreds of kilometres of asbestos cement pipes beneath Winnipeggers' feet are raising worries.
"I am concerned that people can get cancer from the ingestion, including through asbestos cement water pipes," Arthur Frank, a public health professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told W5.
Frank said he is worried it is possible asbestos can cause gastrointestinal tract cancer even if ingested rather than inhaled.
"There is no safe level of an exposure to a cancer-causing agent," Frank said.
Health Canada says there is no evidence drinking or ingesting asbestos is harmful to human health and so there is currently no maximum limit that can be in Canadian water.
However, Brian Mayes, chair of Winnipeg's water and waste committee, says the American Environmental Protection Agency says if the fibre length is shorter than 10 micrometres it is too small to cause any damage. Longer ones are different, and it will not allow more than 7 million long fibres per litre of water.
"It was tested for an 11-year arc between the early ’80s and the mid ’90s, and we didn't find any of these long fibres over that whole 11-year arc, so the testing was discontinued then," Mayes said.
Still, advocate Julian Branch can't understand why there isn't widespread testing for asbestos in Canadian drinking water, and why there isn't more urgency on the part of elected officials.
"We can't just keep pretending it's not there. We have to find a solution to this before it's too late," Branch told W5.
That solution may come with time as those asbestos cement pipes are on the way out in Winnipeg.
"We haven't been putting it in newer developments in decades," Mayes told CTV News. "We are gradually reducing the kilometerage of pipes that has the asbestos."
In a statement, provincial Environment Minister Kevin Klein told CTV News, "Manitoba municipalities follow all provincial drinking water standards which are based on Health Canada guidelines. Health Canada has concluded there is no evidence asbestos fibres in drinking water is harmful to health."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live updates: What star witness in Trump hush money case has said on the stand so far
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial took the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
When you have a moment's notice to evacuate, what do you take?
Knowing what to have at home, or take with you for an evacuation, can be useful and even life-saving.
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.’s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease’s progression.
Canucks' Soucy suspended 1 game, Zadorov fined $5,000 for post-game crosschecks on McDavid
A Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been suspended for a game and another was handed a hefty fine after a scrum broke out at the end of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday night.
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sues for defamation over National Enquirer, InTouch Weekly stories
'Judge Judy' Sheindlin sued the parent company of the National Enquirer and InTouch Weekly on Monday for a story that she said falsely claimed that she was trying to help the Menendez brothers get a retrial after they were convicted of murdering their parents.
'Ready to go': Fort McMurray residents prepared for evacuation as crews battle nearby wildfire
An evacuation alert remains in place in the Fort McMurray area on Monday afternoon.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.