Asbestos in Drinking Water Supplied Through Grossly Deteriorated A–C Pipe

High concentrations of asbestos were found in the water supply system of Woodstock, N.Y., following a routine pipe‐tapping operation in the fall of 1985. Analysis of a water sample collected 10 days after tapping showed asbestos concentrations in excess of 10 4 million fibers per litre (MFL). The source of this asbestos was asbestos–cement (AC) pipe, which was so deteriorated that sections of pipe could be easily broken by hand. Although asbestos concentrations decreased rapidly as AC pipe was removed from the system, concentrations as high as 49 MFL were measured during the summer of 1986. Throughout the sampling period, even when concentrations fell below 1 MFL, Woodstock water samples were characterized by fibers with much larger lengths, widths, and masses than those collected in nonproblem areas across New York state.