Fears over growing number of asbestos fibres in our drinking water

Scotland is facing a growing risk from asbestos in water pipes, with more than a quarter of the mains network in some areas containing the cancer-causing fibres.

We can reveal more than half of the asbestos-laden pipes that make up over 11% of the the country’s supply are now older than their safe lifespan of 70 years.

That means they will be increasingly prone to bursting and, as they degrade over time, asbestos fibres will be released into the drinking water supply.

The presence of asbestos-cement pipes is at its greatest in rural areas, with Perth and Kinross seeing the highest level, at 27%.

That is followed by Angus at 26%, Dumfries and Galloway at 25% and Shetland at 23%. The figure for Glasgow is 13%, while Edinburgh comes in at 0%.

Scottish water estimates it may take until 2072 for all of the pipes to be replaced if the current rate of refitting is maintained.

But any danger is further increased as the work is carried out because cutting into the pipes can cause fibres to be released into the air.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen to humans, meaning it is capable of causing cancer.

When fibres become airborne and are inhaled, they can lodge in the lungs and other parts of the airways.

There is typically considered to be no safe level of exposure to asbestos – although health officials disagree on the dangers associated with fibres in drinking water.

Evidence is far from clear

The World Health Organisation does not consider ingestion of asbestos in drinking water to be a serious risk.

However, eight studies have established a correlation between asbestos exposure through ingestion and incidences of stomach and gut cancers.

A systematic review paper that looked into these studies last year said further research is needed to establish whether there is a clear link.

Lawyers in America are already pursuing cases where they argue the fibres from asbestos cement pipes have caused cancers in their clients.

Experts fear we could be on the cusp of a new wave of asbestos cases in the UK but will not know the full extent of the harm for decades.

Adrian Budgen is national head of asbestos and occupational disease at law firm Irwin Mitchell and is a leading specialist in asbestos-related disease cases.

He has represented individuals who died from cancer after laying asbestos cement pipes.

Budgen said: “I think 50 years to replace these pipes is absurdly long. That’s several generations.

“The latency period for most asbestos-related illnesses is upwards of 20 years so it can often be 30, 40 or 50 years after you have exposure that you find out, and it just strikes like a lightning bolt.

“It’s now over 25 years since asbestos was banned in the UK and we are only just seeing a third wave of asbestos cases, this time from background exposure in schools or offices where it was present and then disturbed.

“I would say this could be in that category but we just won’t know the full extent until many years from now.”

‘Wise to remove asbestos pipes’

The latest World Health Organisation guidelines, published in 2022, point to studies that suggest an increased risk of cancer.

But it concluded it was not “appropriate or necessary to establish a guideline value for asbestos fibres in drinking water”.

These guidelines are effectively replicated in the UK by the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

It last examined the subject in detail more than 20 years ago, when it acknowledged that “most waters in the UK” contain asbestos fibres.

Professor Andrew Watterson, a public health researcher at Stirling University, said the whole of the UK appears to be lagging behind global best practice.

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He said it is “worrying” the normal end-of-life replacement time for the pipes in Scotland could be double that operated elsewhere.

Watterson added: “Carcinogens have no absolute safe level of exposure.

“Hence there’s a potential, albeit low, for harm from asbestos in water supplies – but past studies have been inconclusive.

“To date no research has been sufficiently well designed to establish what exactly the level of risk, if any, there is. It may take decades to find out conclusively.

“So, the removal of asbestos pipes by water suppliers now is a wise and precautionary policy.”

Beatrice Wishart, the Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland, sought clarity over the presence of Asbestos piping in her constituency in February but says she was ignored by acting minister for climate action Alasdair Allan.

Figures from Scottish Water, obtained by her office, show 52.5% of asbestos cement pipes across Scotland’s water supply are now older than the maximum range lifespan.

Wishart said: “Scotland has not invested properly in its infrastructure.

“When it comes to issues like dangerous concrete in our public buildings, sewage in our rivers and now reliance on asbestos piping, the SNP have taken an out of sight, out of mind approach.

“That kind of short-term thinking means that when a crisis happens, they will be left playing catch up.

“Given that these pipes make up as much as a quarter of our water infrastructure in some parts of the country, it’s time to take explore what can be done to ensure that every Scot has access to safe and secure drinking water.”

What does Scottish Water say?

The UK Water Industry Research organisation said in 2020 that the cost to replace all asbestos cement piping across the UK would be between £5 billion and £8 billion.

Scottish Water said it invests around £35-40 million a year to renew water mains and is “proposing” to significantly increase the replacement rate for asbestos cement pipes.

A spokesman said: “There are strict standards in place for any materials we use on our water network to ensure public health is the primary concern and these standards are guided by the World Health Organisation, which has concluded there is no evidence to suggest that drinking water from AC pipes is a health risk.”