United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4601
EPA811-F-95-002a-T
October 1995
National Primary Drinking
Water Regulations
Asbestos
CHEMICAL/PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
CAS NUMBER: 1332-21-4
COLOR/ FORM/ODOR: White, gray, green or brown crystalline
fibers; odorless ,
SOLUBILITIES: insoluble
SOIL SORPTION COEFFICIENT: N/A
BIOCONCENTRATION FACTOR: N/A; not expected to bioconcentrate
COMMON ORES: Amosite, Chrysotile, Crocidiolite; Tremolite;
Ascarite
DRINKING WATER STANDARDS
MCLG: 7 million fibers per liter (MFL)
(fibers > 10 microns in length)
7 million fibers per liter (MFL)
MCL:
HAL(child): none
HEALTH EFFECTS.SUMMARY
Acute: No reliable data are available on the acute toxic
effects from short-term exposures to asbestos. No Health
Advisories have been established for short-term expo-
sures. .
Chronic: Asbestos has the potential to cause lung
disease from a lifetime exposure at levels above the
MCL.
Cancer: Asbestos has the potential to cause cancer
of the lung and other internal organs from a lifetime
exposure at levels above the MCL.
USAGE PATTERNS
Because asbestos fibers are resistant to heat and
most chemicals, they have been mined for use in a
variety of products (over 3,000 different products in the
United States). In 1988, asbestos was consumed in
roofing products, 28%; friction products, 26%; asbestos
cement pipe, 14%; packing and gaskets; 13%; paper,
6%; and other 13%.
Pipe products find use in water supply, sewage dis-
posal, & irrigation systems. Asbestos cement sheets are
used in a wide variety of construction applications. Other
uses of asbestos include fire resistant textiles, friction
materials (ie, brake linings), underiayment & roofing
papers, & floor tiles, Crocidolite can be spun & woven
using modified cotton industry machinery; the asbestos
cloth is used for fireproof clothing & curtains.
Most uses of asbestos were banned in the United
States by the EPA on July 12,1989 because of potential
adverse health effects in exposed persons. The remain-
ing, currently allowed uses of asbestos include battery
separators, sealant tape, asbestos thread, packing ma-
terials, and certain industrial uses of both sheet gaskets
and beater-add gaskets.
PATTERNS
Asbestos fibers may enter the environment from natu-
Toxic RELEASE INVENTORY •
RELEASES TO WATER AND LAND: 1987 TO 1993
Water
TOTALS (in pounds) < 32,650
Top Five States
PA 0
LA 61
TX 0
AR 1,000
VA 0
Top Industrial Sources
Asbestos products 3,005
Alkalis, chlorine 1,973
Industrial organic chems 0
Asphalt felts, coatings 5
Auto parts 0
Petroleum refining 0
Plastic pipes 0
Shipbuilding, repairing 0
Land
8,620,439
2,945,049
2.256,400
1,737,200
568,227
480,000
2,510,227
2,256.404
1.230,000
871,067
563,694
314.560
235,200
211,400
* State/Industry totals only include facilities with releases
greater than a certain amount • usually 1000 to 10,000 Ibs.
October 1995
Technical Version
Printed on Recycled Paper
-------
ral sources such as erosion of asbestos-containing ores,
but the primary source of asbestos in the environment is
through the wear or breakdown of. asbestos-containing
materials. Asbestos fibers have been released into water
by the dumping of mining tailings into lakes, by the runoff
of process and air scrubber water into lakes and streams,
and by the use of asbestos cement pipes in water supply
systems.
Over one million tons of asbestos is contained in friable
materials in ships, buildings, power plants, chemical
plants, refineries, and other locations of high temperature
equipment. Other products may include insulation, auto-
mobile brakes, cement pipes, and roofing materials. The
maintenance, repair, and removal of this material will
account for the principal releases in the future. Asbestos
fibers also can be released to the environment from
asbestos processing, including milling, manufacturing,
and fabrication.
From 1987 to 1993, according to the Toxics Release
Inventory, asbestos releases to land totalled nearly 9
million Ibs., and releases to water totalled nearly 33,000
Ibs. These releases were primarily from asbestos prod-
ucts industries which use asbestos in roofing materials
friction materials, and cement. The largest releases oc-
curred in Pennsylvania and Louisiana.
ENVIRONMENTAL FATE
As a naturally occurring substance, asbestos can be
present in surface and ground water. Because asbestos
fibers in water do not evaporate into air or break down in
water, small fibers and fiber-containing particles may be
carried long distances by water currents before settling to
the bottom; larger fibers and particles tend to settle more
quickly.
Asbestos does not tend to adsorb to solids normally
found in natural water systems, but some materials (trace
metals and organic compounds) have an affinity for
asbestos minerals. The fibers are not able to move down
through soil to ground water.
Asbestos is not affected by photolytic processes and is
considered to be non-biodegradable by aquatic organ-
isms. .Asbestos fibers are not broken down to other
compounds in the environment and, therefore, can re-
main in the environment for decades or longer.
There are no data regarding the bioaccumulation of
asbestos in aquatic organisms.
OTHER REGULATORY INFORMATION
MONITORING:
- FOR GROUND AND SURFACE WATER SOURCES:
INITIAL FREQUENCY- 1 sample once every 9 years
REPEAT FREQUENCY- 1 sample once every 9 years
- TRIGGERS - If detect at > 7 MFL, sample quarterly.
ANALYSIS:
REFERENCE SOURCE
EPA 800/4-83-043
METHOD NUMBERS
Transmission Electron Microscopy
TREATMENT:
BEST AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES
Coagulation/Filtration; Direct and Diatomite Filtration; Corrosion Control
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
4 EPA can provide further regulatory and other general information:
• EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline - 800/426-4791
4 Other sources of lexicological and environmental fate data include:
• Toxic Substance Control Act Information .Line - 202/554-1404 .
• Toxics Release Inventory, National Library of Medicine - 301/496-6531
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - 404/639-6000
October 1995
Technical Version
Page 2
------- |