This department is concerned that statements made in a letter to the editor in your Oct. 27 edition could cause public water system subscribers in this county to mistakenly believe there is a health risk associated with the pipes in their water system.

First, it must be stated that the author of that letter need not feel defensive about a decision to replace CA (concrete-asbestos) water mains. The primary disadvantage of older CA pipe is that it tends to be fragile and prone to leaks. With Whidbey Island’s limited sole-source aquifer, water conservation is very important, and reducing the risk of water leaks is commendable.

What is disturbing is the number of misleading errors in the letter. The writer made a statement referring to “the relatively recent discovery that asbestos is a cancer causing material.” When I was a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health 30 years ago, we studied the association of asbestos to lung cancer and asbestosis that had already been well established and known for over a decade. If you are using Carl Sagan’s definition of “relatively recent,” I suppose the statement makes sense. What does not make sense is to presume that significant quantities of asbestos will somehow be released from the concrete in the pipes and then become airborne out of the water.

The letter writer stated: “Currently asbestos fiber testing is not required in water systems.” That statement is NOT correct. The Washington State Department of Health requires water systems with CA water lines to submit water samples for asbestos fiber analysis at least once every nine years (greater frequencies are not considered necessary because experience shows minimal levels and minimal fluctuation).

The writer also stated, “There is no agreed upon standard as to how much asbestos is too much in the water system.” That statement is also NOT correct. In fact, the US Environmental Protection Agency has established a health-based Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for asbestos in water expressed in fibers per liter (for fibers 10 microns or longer). Since the onset of the asbestos water testing requirement in 1993, no water system in the state of Washington has approached the asbestos MCL. The predominant analysis result has been zero detection, and the HIGHEST concentration found in this state has been only one-tenth of the allowable limit. One lone water system in the state of Oregon (with highly corrosive water) has exceeded the MCL.

As an example of results in Island County, the last two asbestos analyses of Admirals’ Cove Water District water in September 1997 showed “no detectable fibers.”

Any industrial hygienist can tell you that the preferred technique for asbestos removal projects is to use “wet methods” because extensive testing has repeatedly shown that asbestos fibers suspended in water are not released to the respirable atmosphere.

The writer poses a question of the risk of taking a shower. The answer is simple. The water goes down the drain. What is left to evaporate is not significant, and, around here, there isn’t a significant amount of asbestos in the water in the first place.

If you want to prevent lung disease in your home, don’t let anybody smoke there.

Vin Sherman is Drinking Water Program Coordinator for the

Island County Health Department