DISCUSSIONS AND TWO WAY FLOW OF INFORMATION CONTINUE

I view that as a very good sign. Councillor Merlihan continues to accept new information and data and he is asking appropriate questions as well. Yesterday I sent him and the two other councillors quite a number of articles dealing with asbestos cement water pipe as well as details regarding benign colon polyps becoming malignant. These articles emphasized that not all polyps become malignant (cancerous) but that the ones that do started out as benign. Therefore anything that produces polyps in the first place is bad for you. The U.S. EPA determined that people are at risk of increased polyps due to asbestos fibres being ingested. Clearly that includes asbestos fibres being ingested through drinking water being transported in ageing asbestos cement pipes.

One should also keep in mind that during colonoscopys any and all polyps discovered are routinely removed and then sent to determine if they are malignant or not. Removing these growths is clearly viewed as appropriate by the medical community. Therefore anything that increases the production of these growths in the human body is not good for us and increases our risk of getting cancer.

Other considerations include the age of the asbestos cement pipes in Elmira. They are well past their best before date as they are estimated to be between 59 and 88 years old depending on exactly when hey were installed. Regardless these pipes breakdown and release the asbestos fibres between 50 and 70 years after installation. I think that these pipes have paid for themselves long ago and should be removed as soon as possible.