Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 8 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 1

Written Answers. - Water Quality.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

275 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the concerns on the part of drinking water consumers in relation to the possible presence of asbestos in drinking water due to the continuing use in some local authority areas of asbestos piping; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26510/98]

Trevor Sargent

Question:

276 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the testing, if any, carried out to determine the asbestos content of the drinking water supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26511/98]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 275 and 276 together.

Statutory responsibility for the provision of drinking water, together with responsibility for the monitoring of such supplies for compliance with appropriate quality standards, lies with local authorities. The Environmental Protection Agency has a supervisory role in this regard, and is required under section 58 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, to prepare reports annually on the monitoring by the authorities and to carry out such monitoring as it considers necessary to verify information transmitted to it. Copies of the reports prepared by the agency for this purpose are available in the Oireachtas Library.

Asbestos cement piping, to specification ISEN 512 in relation to public cement pressure pipes, is used by local authorities for water mains. Such piping requires,inter alia, bitumen lining and coating. This type of piping is widely used internationally for water mains and is a well established and accepted piping material for this purpose.

The World Health Organisation, in its most recent analysis in relation to asbestos in drinking water, stated that there is no consistent evidence that ingested asbestos is hazardous to health and concluded that there was no need to establish a health based guideline value for asbestos in drinking water.

There is no evidence of the presence of asbestos in supplies of drinking water in Ireland and asbestos is not the subject of systematic monitoring in such supplies.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

277 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the extent to which asbestos piping is in use to carry domestic water supplies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26512/98]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Dempsey)

Asbestos cement piping to the specifications defined in Irish Standard 188 which requires, inter alia, bitumen lining and coating, is used by local authorities for water mains. While no statistics are available in my Department as to the length of this piping used nationally, the report of the Greater Dublin Water Supply Strategic Study shows that asbestos cement piping accounts for over 11 per cent or 656,000 metres, of water mains in the greater Dublin region. This type of piping is widely used internationally for water mains and is well established and accepted piping material for this purpose.