Tough to Swallow – Asbestos Cement Water Pipes in Canada1
I walked out of high school in the spring/summer 1977 without a clue of what I wanted to do for a career. That same year, Health and Welfare Canada was working on a report on something that the vast majority of Canadians were, and remain, completely oblivious to – the presence of asbestos in drinking water. I would go on to become a national journalist, and a communications professional. I covered politics, and worked for politicians for decades. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that almost a half century later I would be researching old asbestos cement (AC) water pipes, and ingested asbestos. I have spent the past 13.5 years investigating this issue. What I have discovered is at once fascinating and deeply disturbing.
The Health and Welfare Canada report, which was published in 1981, found that there was indeed asbestos in Canadian water. It also contains a section on the “Contribution of asbestos-cement pipe.” The section highlights Winnipeg, Manitoba, which was reported to have concentrations of asbestos in water as high as 6.5 million fibres per litre (6.5 MFL) in its water. The four-decade old report also said “These data provide a statistically valid indication that erosion of asbestos-cement pipes is taking place.”
In the 1980s, A report entitled City of Winnipeg – Technical Advice on Corrosion of Asbestos Cement Pipe was commissioned. It found that the concentration of asbestos in Winnipeg water had almost doubled to 12.3 MFL. The authors of the report recommended testing for asbestos at 10 locations on an annual basis. In a 2021 email, the City of Winnipeg confirmed that there are more than 700 kilometres of old asbestos cement water pipes in the city, and that the city stopped testing the water for asbestos in 1995. In an April 4, 2022 City of Winnipeg committee meeting the director of water and waste confirmed that the highest concentration of asbestos in water prior to the cessation of testing in 1995 was 19 MFL. However, he was quick to point out that that was okay because the fibres were of the shorter variety. The current allowable Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) level for asbestos in American water, where asbestos is regulated in water, is 7 MFL, over 10 microns in length. A 1995 EPA fact sheet says that level was established to prevent serious risks to public health. Winnipeg has not tested its water for asbestos for three decades.
Regina, Saskatchewan has 600 kilometres of old asbestos cement water pipes. The city describes the state of the pipes as “sound.” City information also shows there were 2,477 asbestos cement water pipe breaks in Regina between 2010-2022. The city maintains it has not detected any asbestos in Regina water despite testing since 2016. The investigative television news program W5 tested Regina water near one large main break in 2022, and sent the sample to an American lab. The results showed there were 370,000 asbestos fibres in a litre of water. When the program aired in March 2023, journalists across Canada fanned out to learn what the situation was in their communities. A television news broadcast from Vancouver Island told viewers there were 100 kilometres of old asbestos cement water pipe in Nanaimo, B.C. The news story informed viewers that the city tested the water for asbestos, while the proud mayor took a big swig of water on-camera, further assuring residents that it was safe to drink. Freedom of information documents show that Nanaimo tested the water for asbestos, at one location in 2007. City documents show that asbestos cement water pipes have continued to break since then.
Recently, Statistics Canada released data showing that there are at least 13.7-thousand kilometres of old asbestos cement water pipes still in use in Canada. A few weeks after that data was released came a story from Whitehorse, Yukon. The story reported that “Fibres that resemble asbestos” had been discovered in the water. According to Statistics Canada data, Whitehorse has 53 kilometres of old asbestos cement water pipe in the distribution system. I contacted the Whitehorse water manager, and was told that there are no plans to follow-up to confirm that the mysterious fibres are indeed asbestos because Health Canada maintains there is insufficient evidence to show that drinking asbestos fibres, from old water pipes, is harmful.
Because Regina, SK has so much old asbestos cement water pipe, in 2003 the National Research Council (NRC) established what was supposed to be a “permanent” facility in the city. A series of 10 very specific, very detailed studies, which are packed full of data, said the old pipes are deteriorating, and the asbestos fibres are entering the water. The studies repeatedly refer to asbestos in water as a “health concern.” One 2010 example says “Severely deteriorated AC pipes also released asbestos fiber into the drinking water and could pose a hazard of malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and other organs in consumers.” When I wrote the NRC to ask some fairly elementary questions regarding asbestos cement water pipes, I received a rather remarkable response. “The NRC holds no data on asbestos cement water pipes.” When Health Canada was asked how it maintains there is no evidence that swallowing asbestos is harmful in light of those 10 NRC studies, it brushes them aside insisting that they were focussed on infrastructure, not health. The Regina research facility quietly closed its doors in 2013.
A 1977 report from the former Science Council of Canada contains a glimpse into Canada’s long and complex relationship with what was once referred to as the “miracle mineral.” It says Canada once produced approximately 40% of the world’s supply of chrysotile asbestos – the favourite type used in the construction of water pipes – and that 95% of the Canadian chrysotile was exported worldwide.
Countries around the globe are now beginning to grasp the enormity of this problem, and are prioritizing asbestos cement water pipe replacement. Hopefully, the issue of asbestos cement water pipes will be dealt with in Canada by the time my newly born grandson graduates from high school in two decades.
Health Canada is currently reassessing its 1989 decision to not regulate asbestos in water. We can only hope that evidence, and common sense prevail.
October 7, 2025
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1 Julian Branch can be contacted by email at: branchj586@gmail.com
