Asbestos in drinking water: a Canadian view.

For several years now, public health professionals have been faced with evaluating the potential hazards associated with the ingestion of asbestos in food and drinking water. In Canada, this is a subject of particular concern, because of the widespread occurrence of chrysotile asbestos in drinking water supplies. The results of available Canadian monitoring and epidemiologic studies of asbestos in drinking water are reviewed and discussed in light of other published work. It is concluded that the risk to health associated with the ingestion of asbestos, at the levels found in municipal drinking water supplies, is so small that it cannot be detected by currently available epidemiologic techniques.