Asbestos fibres in receiving waters / H. Schreier and J. Taylor.: En36-503/117E-PDF

"Little is known about asbestos fibre concentration in water supplies and drainage systems and the possible health hazard which it could create. A comprehensive review of the subject is provided in this report, which includes results of exploratory studies in British Columbia and the Yukon, and a comparison with concentrations elsewhere in North America. Asbestos fibres, which can be introduced into the hydrologic system by natural and man-made processes, were reported in all phases of the hydrologic cycle. The greatest source appears to be natural exposures of asbestos-bearing bed rock where the fibres are introduced by surface runoff as well as by groundwater drainage. Levels of up to one hundred billion fibres/L were measured in natural river systems in British Columbia; these results were significantly higher than those reported for drinking water supplies in eastern Canada and the eastern United States. The concentrations are comparable with those reported from mine effluents in Quebec and groundwater levels in New Mexico. Weathering processes and the abundance of asbestos-bearing metamorphic rocks in British Columbia are thought to be the main causes of these high concentrations. It is suggested that bedrock geology be used as a means of predicting high asbestos concentrations in drainage systems. Finally, for a better understanding of the processes responsible for the asbestos fibre distribution in water systems, it is suggested that an investigation of the transport mechanisms be initiated and that the spatial and seasonal variation in a number of drainage systems be determined"--Abstract, p. v.

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