Skip to main content
Normal View

Water Services Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2012

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Questions (399)

Robert Troy

Question:

399. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will allocate the necessary funding for the replacement of 5km of old water mains piping on the Clara Road, Kilbeggan, County Westmeath in the interest of public safety in view of the fact that these are asbestos pipes which are regularly leaking. [42798/12]

View answer

Written answers

Water conservation contracts to the value of €10.2 million are included in my Department’s Water Services Investment Programme 2010 – 2013 for works in County Westmeath.

The council has recently submitted a request for approval for advance works at Clara Road, Kilbeggan, under the county’s Water Conservation Stage 3 – Mains Rehabilitation Strategy, and this submission is currently under examination by my Department.

Asbestos cement piping formerly used in local authority water mains was required to meet the specifications defined in Irish Standard 188 to include bitumen lining and coating. The main health risk associated with asbestos products relates to inhalation of airborne asbestos particles. The potential exposure to such risk has led to a decline in the use of asbestos materials generally. With the availability of more robust materials, asbestos cement piping is no longer used in Ireland for new public water mains or sewer pipes.

The World Health Organisation's position on asbestos in drinking water is that there is no consistent evidence that ingested asbestos is hazardous to health and that there is no need to establish a health-based guideline value for asbestos in drinking water.

Top
Share