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gab13by13

(33,224 posts)
Fri Jun 26, 2026, 08:34 AM Jun 26

Is This Deadly Story Happening Across America [View all]

I ran into a friend at the grocery store yesterday. He is a water expert, a scientist, former president of the fish commission and was instrumental in restoring our local streams. I met him back in the 70's when we fought to protect our town's pristine watershed from gas frackers and coal strippers. Yup, he got death threats.

Our town has some of the purest water in the country, but it is delivered by cement pipes that used asbestos to seal the joints. The past 4 years we got notices that our drinking water exceeds the allowable % of asbestos. My friend told me the story about being called to our local car wash where the owner complained about low water pressure. My friend took samples of his water and discovered that it was full of asbestos. My friend went to our borough and water authority to report the asbestos, they wanted nothing to do with him, they covered it up. He was upset because he offered to help them get grants to work on solving the problem, but was turned down. My friend told the car wash owner about his rejection so the car wash owner went on social media and raised holy hell, let everyone know about the asbestos in the water, so that's when we started getting notices about excessive asbestos.

How many other towns, cities are there that used cement pipes back in the 70's that sealed them with an asbestos compound?

At the grocery store my friend got visibly upset, he said, people are dying and they don't care. He said that the asbestos would cause lung issues and cancer. I told him I put a filter on my water line. He asked how many microns was it rated at, I told him 5 microns. (it will stop particles 5 microns or larger) He told me, not good enough, I needed either a 1 or 2 micron filter which I just ordered yesterday.

Hey people who have water lines that were installed around the 70's, better check and see if they used cement pipes that used an asbestos compound, I am talking main water lines. If they did I suggest putting in a 1 or 2 micron water filter because your water authority may be covering up the asbestos. It is a tremendous cost to replace all of the main water lines in a town or city, so they cover it up.

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Damn.......... Lovie777 Jun 26 #1
It's amazing how many construction materials were made from asbestos! 70sEraVet Jun 26 #2
Just in a certain type of cement pipe gab13by13 Jun 26 #3
When I was in the Navy, I worked on the boilers on the ships. 70sEraVet Jun 26 #5
You're very lucky - TBF Jun 26 #11
Sorry about your Dad TBF 70sEraVet Jun 26 #12
A friend of mine popsdenver Jun 26 #13
Oh my goodness - TBF Jun 26 #14
Veteran's organizations (VFW, American Legion and DAV) have excellent Reps 70sEraVet Jun 27 #21
Sorry about your friend, popsdenver. 70sEraVet Jun 27 #20
thx Era Vet popsdenver Jun 27 #24
I sailed on two of those ships. I didn't work in the boiler room but I had a friend that GoodRaisin Jun 27 #18
A friend of mine once put a damper on a discussion about education RVN VET71 Jun 27 #22
Like everything else BeneteauBum Jun 26 #4
And it costs human lives to do nothing. Shows us what they think of the value of life.... erronis Jun 26 #6
Ahhh, but if your Trump, or anyone in congress covered by insurance infullview Jun 26 #7
The biggest danger is from inhaling asbestos SCantiGOP Jun 26 #8
Your friend could contact the state's department of environmental protection Wicked Blue Jun 26 #9
Our water has such a chemical taste to it we no longer drink it or give it to our cats. Fla Dem Jun 26 #10
We're pretty lucky PJMcK Jun 26 #15
Interesting article from the BBC canetoad Jun 26 #16
"Full of Asbestos" BidenRocks Jun 27 #17
People seem to have all the money needed to fight fake culture wars but none to fix actual problems. Lonestarblue Jun 27 #19
Our water comes off the NYC Aqueduct Historic NY Jun 27 #23
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