Over 530 km of asbestos cement pipes in Regina: investigation by W5
Regina has 531 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes, according to findings by a W5 investigation.
CTV Regina Morning Live spoke with W5 correspondent Eric Szeto on Friday to learn more about the research.
Szeto said asbestos cement pipes were a popular material decades ago before it was discovered how toxic and harmful asbestos could be.
“It was so popular at one point, there was close to two million kilometres of this pipe around the world, including right here in Canada, but as these pipes start to age, as this infrastructure starts to go, they tend to fail catastrophically,” he said.
“There’s concern that these fibres go off, break off these pipes, and end up going into your taps, and you end up drinking it.”
W5 spent several months trying to figure out where the pipes are located and whether or not there is asbestos in their water. Part of their investigation brought them to the Queen City.
“We reached out to over 100 communities across the country,” he said. “Ninety per cent of the communities that responded still use asbestos in their piping, including Regina, where there’s over 500 kilometres of this stuff.”
“I think we should note with Regina, for example, there’s been thousands of pipe ruptures in recent decades, and that’s caused concern for activists that see this happening quite frequently.”
Szeto said to push the investigation forward, they wanted to find out where the asbestos is and if there is any in the water from the asbestos cement pipes.
“We ended up taking water samples from Canadian cities, including Regina, and got them sent off to a lab for analysis,” he said.
To find out the results, the full story, “Something in the Water,” will be aired on Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV’s W5.
- With files from CTV’s Eric Szeto and CTV Regina Morning Live
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.