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Merseyside Asbestos Victims Support Group Concerns Over Ingested Asbestos

Cancer Causation And Asbestos-Cement (A/C) Drinking Water Pipes.

Derek Maylor from MAVSG. writes about the continueing concern over water pollution containing Asbestos from in particular, Abestos cement water pipes used in the UK and around the world:

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently, 1st. February 2024, released estimates of the global burden of cancer which showed the majority of countries do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services.

In 2022, there were an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths. Whilst lung cancer was by far the greatest cause our ongoing concern is over the lack of investigation into cancers that may be caused by ingestion of asbestos and subsequently the lack of attention paid to prevention and action on areas such as asbestos cement water pipes.

If we use WHO data to consider such possible cancers:

• Digestive organs – colorectum, anus, oesophagus, stomach, rectum, liver and intrahepatic bile ducts, gall bladder, pancreas. 
  
  
• Lip, oral, cavity and pharynx – lip, oral cavity, salivary glands, oropharynx, nasopharynx, hypopharynx.
  
  
• Urinary tract – kidney and renal pelvis, bladder.

All of the above cancers could be caused by asbestos ingestion and new up-to-date research is desperately needed to provide facts not the use of several years old data and information, however well-meaning that research was.

Only when there are new, in-depth deep clinical studies into ingested asbestos providing statistics and current suitable data can we act and start to remove the killer asbestos from the UK drinking water supply. We would like to see the eradication of asbestos in the drinking water supply network throughout the UK alongside the campaign for the removal of asbestos from UK buildings and the immediate regular measurement of asbestos levels in drinking water by all UK suppliers.

References:

• World Health Organisation (WHO). (2024). PRESS RELEASE. Global cancer burden growing, amidst mounting need for services. 31 January.
• World Health Organization (WHO). (2020). CANCER FACT SHEETS. [Online].
• International Agency for Research on Cancer. Last Updated: December. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/fact-sheets-cancers [Accessed 31 January 2024].

See also: Global Cancer Burden Growing, Amidst Mounting Need For Services

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