Health & Fitness
Falmouth Water Tests Come Back Clean After Asbestos Scare
Falmouth town officials said asbestos levels on the town's drinking water are well below the legal limit.
FALMOUTH, MA — Testing on the town's drinking water was completed, and town officials said asbestos levels are well below the legal limit. The tests came after a previous sample from a fire hydrant on Waterside Drive showed levels three times over the legal limit. This first examination came after asbestos pipes were found improperly stored outside the Long Pond Pumping Station in October.
Water department officials told CapeCod.com samples were taken earlier this month at all five of the town's fire stations and one from Fiddler's Cove Marina. All samples detected asbestos fibers of 190,000 per liter or less, which is well below the Environmental Protection Agency's 7 million maximum.
Water Superintendent Steve Rafferty, at a selectmen meeting earlier this month, said there's no indication the asbestos level at the hydrant was caused by how the pipes were stores. Rafferty also said the second samples are a better reflection of residents' tap water quality.
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