Hydrogeological study on the presence of asbestos fibres in water of northern Italy

A large mine has been in operation in Italy for over 70 years producing chrysotile, whose residual rock was disposed of at two different sites near the mine. This report refers to a hydrogeological survey on the surface water and the ground water located downstream of the mine. The study has been supported by the Turin Municipal Waterworks Company, to reveal the presence of asbestos fibres in its distribution network or in the raw water of different supplies, wells and rivers. The analytic method consists in vacuum filtering of water samples, observation with Scanning Electron Microscope of the particles and analysis with microprobe. After 12 months of monitoring, asbestos pollution has been revealed both in ground water and in surface water, likely due to both anthropic pollution of the mine and natural presence of asbestos fibres in the rocks of the acquifers and in the river-bed. In any case, the absence of asbestos fibres in water provided to consumers shows that the potabilisation method is able to retain this mineral from raw water.