The substance can cause cancer if inhaled, but Irish Water denies that is the case if you consume it through drinking-water. Asbestos cement was commonly used to build truck main from the 1950s to the 1980s – but it has not been used for that purpose in Ireland since that period.

But according to details released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, there are still 5,122 kilometres of asbestos cement water mains throughout Ireland.

Some 22% of it is in Cork – which is nearly double the amount in greater Dublin.

https://www.newstalk.com/news/revealed-5100-kilometres-asbestos-water-pipes-ireland-991947

Every five minutes someone dies of a disease related to asbestos. The statistics in an experts’ report for the European Union (EU) reflect the frightening extent of the asbestos problem: 500,000 people will die of asbestos-related cancer in Europe alone by the year 2030.1 These are the statistics despite the fact that processing and importing of the material has been banned in the EU for a number of years. Because asbestos-related cancers have a long latency period, the number of victims will even continue to increase until 2025; only then will the numbers in Europe go down.

https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/ez_import/FINAL_The_Asbestos_Lie.pdf

New York’s MTA Ignored Asbestos Dangers for Years

https://www.asbestos.com/news/2019/10/08/ny-mta-asbestos-depot/

Asbestos in NYC is more common than you think

https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/new-york-city/asbestos-in-nyc-more-common-you-think.html

Asbestrenovering kostar nu husbolagen tusentals euro mer

https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2016/03/20/asbestrenovering-kostar-nu-husbolagen-tusentals-euro-mer

1 100 människor dör av asbest i Sverige varje år

https://www.arbetarskydd.se/arbetsskador/1-100-manniskor-dor-av-asbest-i-sverige-varje-ar-6927798

Mesothelioma Deaths Peak 30 Years After Asbestos Ban

https://www.asbestos.com/news/2020/01/30/mesothelioma-deaths-peak-italy/

The Netherlands Orders All Asbestos Roofs Removed by 2024

https://www.asbestos.com/news/2016/09/12/netherlands-bans-asbestos-roofs/

Impact of an asbestos cement factory on mesothelioma incidence in a community in Italy

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119307650

Asbestos in buildings still a problem

https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/press/pressinformation/asbestos-in-buildings-still-a-problem

Thought asbestos was fully banned in Canada? Not until 2018.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-december-15-2016-1.3896671/thought-asbestos-was-fully-banned-in-canada-not-until-2018-1.3896765