Document DGNR496w2nY78wx8mB5Na9B2M
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Hooker Chemical Corporation Buffalo Avenue Niagara Falls, New York 14302
Attention: Fred T. Olotka
Dear Mr. Olotka:
EE: ASBESTOS IN DRINKING WATER
Herewith a copy of the report prepared by myself that appeared in the September 1973 issue of the Canadian publication Water and Pollution Control.
Since that time we have continued our sampling and analyses. To date the surface and grand waters of Ontario do not exhibit asbestiform fibres concentrations in excess of 3 million fibres per litre except in the Detroit River, which we are investigating.
We find that concentional regulation, flocullaticn and filtration rarove these fibres to a level belcw 1 million per litre, a level adjuged to be safe by 'our Ministry of Health.
It is interesting to note that clarifier blcw-down levels appear to be about 600 tines the concentration of the raw water. It confirms the propriety of our program of requiring treatment of all water treatment plant wastes.
Thank you for your interest.
Yours very truly.
I ASBESTOS IN DRINKING WATER t The July 20, 1S71 edition of the publication NATURE, included a paper by
Doctors H.M. Cunningham and R. Pontefract of the Department of Health and it
Welfare, Food and Drug Directorate, Ottawa. It was titled ''Asbestos Fibres
in Beverages and Drinking Water". It revealed that some beers, sherries.
ports, vermouths, soft drinks and drinking waters, contained millions of fibres
per litre (quart) of asbestos when examined via the electron microscope.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment felt that it was desirable to assess the
'i water supplies of municipalities in the Province in this regard. In August, 1972,
\ the collection of samples, initially at twenty two Ontario cities using surface
waters for their supplies was initiated. This number was selected since I
funds for this exploratory work were limited and because most of the people
of the Province are served by surface water supply' systems. After collection,
the samples were sent to the Ontario Research Foundation. Dr.Eric Chatfield,
Head, Electron Optical Laboratory, Department of Applied Physics, developed
the methodology and supervised the examinations. Basic instructions
were that the results must be able to be compared with the work of Cunningham
and Pontefract and that an electron micrograph should be made of a representative
asbestiform fibre from each sample.
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-fibres, identification of chrysotile asbestos fibres was relatively simple due to their characteristic tubular appearance and an equally characteristic electron diffraction pattern.
It should be borne in mind that asbestos is a generic term that applies to >
a number of naturally-occurring hydrated mineral silicates, incombustible in II *
air and separable into filaments . The most widely-used in industry is chrysotile, i
a fibrous form of serpentine. Amphibole types include amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Generally, however, the term asbestos is commonly used.
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Knowing the density of chrysotile asbestos (about 2.4 g/cc), the mass concentra tions were estimated. In some instances, magnifications of 50,000 were used to ensure proper identification.
On November 27, 1972 the results were delivered to the Ministry. They were as shown in Table 1. Distribution of fibres as to size was also calculated for each sample (Fig. 21A, 21B). Mr .Paul Emery, Director of Water Supply, The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, assisted by arranging sampling at that municipality (Table II).
At this time, it could be scon that all the samples tested and thereby, the drinking waters at all these locations, contained asbestos. It should be noted that although Sarnia had the highest fibre count, the filtration plant that is being built there is
he next question was: "Is there a health hazard?" There has been a great deal
Twork performed on the effects of inhaled asbestos and standards for maximum in i'
-halation allowable, have been est. dished. However, there is a paucity of information
cm the effects of ingested asbesto: .
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Staff of the Ontario Ministry of Health were contacted and after careful assessments
of known information, advised that at the levels of concentration and size distribution
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reported, and based on information available at this time, there was no evidence of an
effect on health. Subsequently, sampling was performed at the City of Windsor, and the
Town of Lindsay. See Table HI for results.
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All the above is based on surface supplies. At present, sampling is being performed
on municipal well supplies, particularly in the Timmins-Matheson area where
chrysolite asbestos has been mined.
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Since that time, the City of Duluth, Minnesota has been discovering asbestiform fibres
in its drinking water. Reportedly, there are about one million to one hundred million
fibres per litre and mass values of 1 - 100 micrograms (ug) per litre.
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This is approximately 40 times as many fibres, and approximately one hundred thousand times greater mess, per litre, than at Thunder Bay. Note that both cities use Lake Superior water unfiltcred, for their supplies.
II was very fortunate Hint values were already known for the asbestos concentrations at Thunder Hay, for without these, it would have had to bo assumed that the levels
** Thunder Hay os at Duluth.
It would appear from these differences that in general, the sub-surface currents in Lalce Superior flow in a counter-clockwise direction, from Thunder Bay towards
I Duluth approximately 200 miles southwest.
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The United States organizations are diligently trying to assess any health hazard, at Duluth. This is a slow, painstaking procedure that requires monumental investigations. Those persons engaged in this work will warrant sympathetic
J_ understanding by the public.
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There is some real evidence that complete treatment filtration can reduce the concentrations of asbestiform fibres in water. Duluth will probably, at least, have to provide treatment, such as filtration, of its drinking water, if no other source is available.
There is some evidence that in the Ontario cities using surface waters, the numbers and/or mass of asbestos fibres are related, in part, to the size of the municipality. Analysis for asbestos in treated sewage and storm water flows would be desirable. Evaluations will continue, to assess the contributions, if any, of asbestos-cement watermain pipe, particularly in aggressive water areas.
In areas of asbestos-bearing rock, it would appear that care should be taken when using this material for the building of roads and the control of ice on roads.
7"b 0016042 | The Research Branch of the Ministry of the Environment has been asked to assess various pretrealment procedures together with depth and other configurations
.. . fv\ ''ti't'-jflls to provide optimum
What then is the situation? Apparently, there is asbestos in all surface waters . . of all habited areas of Ontario, and perhaps there has always been some asbestos
t there. We have only just discovered its presence, as we will continue to discover new constituents.therein. Our Ministry of Health has indicated that ingestion of asbestos at these levels does not appear to present a health hazard at this time. As with any other constituent, research will have to continue, particularly to as-
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certain if there is a level of ingested asbestos that must not be exceeded. In this, the toxicologist, the epidemiologist and all those other professions of the medical and public health fields will be in the forefront. It reiterates that the vigilant efforts to protect the environment in general, and the public's drinking water in particular, are being performed via personnel from many disciplines.
U*jom*n
TABLE 1
` ASBESTOS FIBRE COUNT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WATER
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Sample Location
Source
Fibre Count, in Millions per litre
Estimated Mass Concentration, ug/
Toronto __v
Tfc^LL. it)
Belleville
L. Ontario Bay of Quinte
1-.-90 0.533
-O-i-000941 0.000937
Brantford
) Brockville *
Chatham
t
. *' Cornwall .
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m
Hamilton fonder* Niagara Falls
) North Bay Oshawa . Ottawa
) Pembroke Peterborough
Grand River St. Lawrence R. Thames River St. Lawrence R. L. Ontario L. Huron Niagara River Trout Lake
L. Ontario Ottawa River Ottawa River Otonabee R.
0.570 0.446 0.595 2.11 0.694 0.456 (^ 2.58 f) 0.384 0.557 0.136 2.85 1.86
. 0.00113
0.000602
.0.00157
0.000729
0.000154
0.000429
0.00225
0.000104
0.000159
0.000093
0.000538
*
,, 0.00354
Port Colborne
Welland Ship Canal 0.600
0.000847
) Sarnia
L. Huron
3.87
0.00213
) Sault Ste. Marie St. Marys River
0.248
0,000141
St. Catharines
Welland Ship Canal (
0.00156
) Sudbury
Ramsay Lake
0.297
0.000542
^^t. Thomas
L. Erie
i
0.000500
) thunder Bay
L. Superior'
0.830
0.000235
Welland
Welland Ship Canal
0.820 I BB 0016044 |
0.000479
.. 7KRLE 21
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ASDESTOS FIBRE COUNT
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J MUNICIPALITY OF METROPOLITAN TORONTO
Sample Location
Fibre Count# in . Millions Der lit:
. J 5 Pandora
jr.c
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Scarborough F.P. - Output
! R. C. Karris F.P. - Ray;
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R. C Harris F. P. --'Output )
Island F.P. - -Raw"
island F.P. - Combined Filtered
Westerly F. P. - Raw
Westerly F. P. - Output
Distribution-St. Clair Reservoir *
Distributicn-Bayviev-York Mills
Estimated Mass
Concentration, u:
0.60094
0.00149
'0.00085 l-
.0.00099 :i 0.00508
* > 0.00247
;o.,60473
0.00033 / *
0.00036 6.00074
WOT E. ; -
-- .MnORoCLR^ M" -PEH' uiTR-1=-
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TABLE III i.
ASBESTOS IN DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WATER
SAMPLE " LOCATION
SOURCE
FIBRE COUNT IN MILLIONS PER LITRE
WINDSOR.
(AFTER FILTRATION)'
DETROIT RIVER
ESTIMATED MASS CONCENTRATION u/g//l
0.00192
0.00279
WINDSOR (RAW)
DETROIT
V LINDSAY
SCUGOG RIVER
0.052 0.00781
0.00101
ASBESTOS FIBRE COUNT ANALYSIS
. * ; SAMPLE: WATER SAMPLE, . THUNDER BAY
. SIZE
PARTICLE NUMBER
CUM
CUM NO
CATEGORY SIZE, UM COUNTED NUMBER PERCENT
CUM MASS PERCENT
1
0,040
0
0.0
0.00
0, 00.
2
0,057
6
3.0 . 4.48
0.38
5 0,080 8
10.0
I4.S3
1.48
*V
4
0.U5 .
20 `
24.0
35.82
4.-73
*5 *
0,160
* * *
- 6*.
0,226
' 7. " *'
0.320
10 n
3
39.0
58.21 ' 10.45.
49.5 . ' 73.88
18.59
` 56.5-
84,33 ' 27.84
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"/
8* * 9
0.453 ... 0.640
8
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1
62.0
92.54
66.5 ' 99.25
60.98 94.90
.. , .*
10 .
0.905
*0
67,0
100.83
100.00
11 * / .12.
1.280
1.810 !-
\
0 0
67.0
67.0
103.00 I00.C3
'*
100.00 100.00
V
-TOTAL.NUMBER OF PARTICLES COU .'TED = G7
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1. ** - ` ii
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5 'CONCENTRATION OF ASBESTOS IN SAMPLE = '8.30 X 10
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' ESTIMATED IASS CON CENTRATION
4 = 2.35 X 10
FIBRES/LITRE
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MICROGRAMS/L
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THIS MASS CONCENTRATION C 0 R R ES P 0 N DS TO ONE
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ASBESTOS I
A. 26 X 1 o
v ARTS OK W ATER
PART
OF 2_BB
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