Asbestos found in water pipes Province wants density in single-family areas

Alan Campbell

ACAMPBELL@RICHMOND-NEWS COM

More than a third of the City of Richmond’s pipes delivering drinking water to its residents are made of cement containing asbestos

The statistic came to light recently on CTV’s W5 investigation show, with Richmond having the ninth-highest percentage of asbestos cement pipes compared to its entire network among the 100 cities contacted nationwide.

Richmond has around 230 kilometres of such pipes, about 36 per cent of its total coverage, with the highest being Millstream on Vancouver Island at 68 per cent

The next Lower Mainland city to Richmond on the list, which was asked by the show, was Delta at 12 per cent of its network.

The show aired concerns from a plumber, whohadalungremovedafterworkingaround asbestos for years, and an Italian doctor, who has researched possible links between drinking water containing asbestos and gastro-in- testinal cancers.

However, in stark contrast, both Health CanadaandtheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO) have concluded that there is “no consistent, convincing evidence that asbestos ingested through water is harmful to your health.”

Health Canada further insists that, if you do drink water containing asbestos fibres, “you eliminate the fibres, mostly through feces For this reason, Health Canada has not established drinking water guidelines for asbestos.”

Several Richmond residents who watched show contacted the Richmond News to express their “disturbing” concerns about the pipes, wondering if the water is tested for asbestos and which neighbourhoods are affected.

The News asked the City of Richmond about the figures, which it confirmed, but noted the city tests its water 40 times a week

City spokesperson Clay Adams reiterated the Health Canada and WHO stance on the presenceofasbestosindrinkingwater,addingthat Richmond “has some of the safest and highest quality tap water in the world

Maria Rantanen

MRANTANEN@RICHMOND-NEWS COM

A provincial proposal to densify single-family lots was met with skepticism from Mayor Malcolm Brodie who prefers Richmond’s initiativetodensifyinCityCentre and along arterial roads

The province plans to introduce legislation allowing up to four units of housing on single-family lots across B C

Brodie, however, warned one policy won’t necessarily work for an entire province

“I don’t believe in one size fits all,” he said The BC NDP government released its housing plan on Monday with several policies from zoning changes to a flipping tax to tackle the on-going housing crisis

“It’s tough out there even people making a good income are struggling to find a place to live,” said B C Premier David Eby.

Brodie agreed more affordable housing is needed, but said, “we don’t want to build every square inch of the city.”

Brodie also questioned whether the infrastructure and services, such as police, fire response, schools and parks, would be adequate in those single-family neighbourhoods if they were quadrupled in density

“Are you going to have enoughwhereyouneedit?” he questioned

Furthermore, single-family areas have neighbourhood character as well as a tree canopy, both of which could be lost, he said

Shortly after reviewing the announcement, Brodie said he has questions about how it will be implemented.

The provincial Homes For People plan included few details on how some of its main initiatives including billions of dollars for new housing will work, but said the province will work with cities to implement the new zoning rules with files from the Victoria Times-Colonist