500 signatures reached
To: Anne Milton MP (Guildford)
Protect Cranleigh (and surrounding villages) from Asbestos Fibres in Our Drinking Water
Get the Drinking Water Inspectorate to immediately undertake independent research to assess the risk to public health from asbestos fibres in Cranleigh's drinking water.
Why is this important?
There is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
We don't want to wait 30 years for a cancer cluster in Cranleigh to prove that we are at risk from our drinking water. We want independent testing to be carried out now to assess the risk to public health.
Almost 30% of the drinking water supply pipes in Cranleigh (highlighted in pink on the above map) are made from asbestos cement (AC), compared to a reported average of 2% throughout the rest of the Thames Water Region. The pipes are between 50 and 70 years old and frequently burst, increasing the amount of free asbestos fibres entering the drinking water supply.
Evidence shows that ageing AC drinking water pipes also degrade internally over time through water friction and low pH levels, releasing free asbestos fibres into the drinking water supply.
Furthermore, an increase in water pressure within these deteriorating AC pipes to accommodate significant housing development in Cranleigh will lead to more bursts and the release of more asbestos fibres.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has been testing for asbestos fibres in drinking water since 1992 due to decaying AC water mains.
No one is testing our drinking water for asbestos fibres, no one is calculating the risk to residents in Cranleigh.
