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Asbestos Fibres in Beverages and Drinking Water

Abstract

THE hazards of inhaling asbestos fibres1–4, the high incidence of gastrointestinal cancer1,2,5–7 and abdominal neoplasms3,8,9 among asbestos workers and the fact that asbestos fibres may penetrate the mucosa of the stomach and the intestine of animals10,11 are known and so it is important to study the distribution of asbestos fibres in the environment. Asbestos fibres have already been found in beer12, and the occurrence of fibres 0.5 nm in length and 0.01 nm in diameter suggests that such material may find its way through filtering systems into city drinking water supplies, and this we have been able to confirm.

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CUNNINGHAM, H., PONTEFRACT, R. Asbestos Fibres in Beverages and Drinking Water. Nature 232, 332–333 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/232332a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/232332a0

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