Link feared between cancer and asbestos water pipes

By TONY GALVIN A CALL has been made for the Government to ensure our domestic water supply network is free of asbestos ducting before water metering and domestic water charges are introduced. A Galway Co Council member told a meeting in County Hall that he would oppose the introduction of charges for domestic water unless he could be assured that the water for which householders would be charged is not contaminated with asbestos dust and is fit for human consumption. His concerns were noted by officials presiding over Mondayâ€â„¢s meeting.[private] He also wants the local authority to provide a map highlighting the locations in all areas where asbestos ducting is in place, and he wants a schedule drawn up for its replacement with safer, hard plastic pipes. Cancer clusters Moylough-based Cllr Kevin Ryan told The Herald that he had become alarmed by a number of cancer clusters in the North Galway area and he had been approached by several people voicing concerns that asbestos in the water supply might be a factor in this. â€Å“Iâ€â„¢m not trying to be alarmist and would not like to name the villages where the cancer clusters have occurred, but one village in the Ballygar area has lost eight people to cancer in a short period. There is real concern that it might be asbestos-related and Iâ€â„¢m simply making the point that if water is to be changed for, then it should be treated like any other food source and measures need to be taken to ensure it is safe for human consumption.â€Â Cllr Tim Broderick told The Herald that the public would be amazed at how much of their drinking water is filtered through asbestos piping and confirmed that he too had been approached by people making inquiries about the safety of the supply. Asbestos dust Kevin Ryan warns that connection work linking new homes to the old asbestos ducting could have resulted in asbestos dust getting into the water supply. â€Å“We simply donâ€â„¢t know enough about this. What I want to see is the council taking this seriously. If they can show there is no threat to health, then it will alleviate a lot of stress and worry. Ignoring it is simply not good enough, and Iâ€â„¢ll be following up on this.â€Â The call came at a meeting of Galway Co Council this week where it was announced that preliminary survey work will begin next week as part of the process of introducing charges for domestic water. Watch for scammers The public has been warned to be on the lookout for bogus local authority workers calling to homes and trying to gain entry under the guise of working on the survey. Director of Services Jim Cullen told members of the council that all workers carrying out survey work would carry official identification which householders should demand to see if they encounter them carrying out their survey. He added that at this early stage it would be unlikely that those carrying out the survey would go onto private property. The initial stages of the work will take from seven months to a year.[/private]