— Photo from the Arkansas Water Resources Center. Biofilm will accumulate in water pipes.

ALTAMONT-Public Works Director Jeff Moller said that the pipe that burst on Schoharie Plank Road West in late September was made of a well-known carcinogenic material, but due to decades of microbial accumulation, A water test is required.

Moller said there is no need to test because a "biofilm" has formed inside the asbestos cement pipe, which acts as a barrier between the asbestos pipe and the village's water supply. Mueller said that all water pipes protect themselves in the same way.

He said that older power supplies are more susceptible to the accumulation of biofilms. "This is good. But in another sense, it can't be good." If too much biofilm accumulates, bacteria will start. It grows on piles, "your chlorine can't reach it".

This is one of the reasons villagers will see the fire hydrant being washed away. Moller's department is actually flushing the water pipes twice a year, so the biofilm does not accumulate too much. 

Moller and his DPW staff must be careful when cutting into the pipe-but the department will not use "any cutting machine like we usually use on water pipes to create dust," he said. Therefore, in addition to protecting workers, due to biofilms, The village does not need to do anything extra in terms of protection. 

"The main reason for the concerns about drinking water containing asbestos fibers is that some occupational epidemiological studies have shown that there is an association between occupational asbestos exposure and gastrointestinal cancer," said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Although asbestos workers are exposed to asbestos in the air, it has been clearly demonstrated that a large part of the inhaled fiber deposited in the lungs is cleared and swallowed. Therefore, they are also exposed to the ingested fiber. Some recent studies have shown that Asbestos fibers can penetrate the digestive tract and even be excreted through urine."

When asked how many asbestos-cement water pipes there are in Altamont, Moller said: "In fact, there are not so many."

But his response was accompanied by a warning: "This is what we know", which means that knowledge was obtained through years of excavating broken water pipes.

Moller said that Maple Avenue Extension and Schoharie Plank Road West have asbestos cement pipes. "And now, these are the only places we really know we have it in our system," he said. Not all Schoharie Plank Road West are asbestos cement pipes, Moller said. Many are mainly cast iron. 

He speculated that asbestos pipes were used as "fillers" in the 1940s.

Moller said that when he arrived in Altamont 20 years ago, there was no real map of the water system in the village. For the past two decades, his department has been making its own maps to repair the main breakpoints in the village. 

There are four types of pipes in the village’s water supply system: plastic pipes, cast iron pipes, ductile iron pipes and asbestos cement pipes. This does not include the first abandoned but still underground wood pipes that made up the system, whose history dates back to 1893.

In 1909, the village began to replace the 128-year-old wooden system with cast iron when the 7,000-foot transmission main line from the Altamont Reservoir was replaced. In 1930, all remaining wooden water pipes were replaced by cast iron.

At Schoharie Plank Road West, the 60-foot-long asbestos cement water pipe was replaced by a plastic pipe. 

The only way for the village to determine whether the asbestos pipe is used in other parts of the water supply system is to encounter it while repairing a new fracture. 

When asked about the asbestos test, Moller said: "This is all done through our tests," but it may not be once a year-depending on the test schedule, it may be done every year, every two years or even every three years. . "It all depends," he said. 

The 2018 and 2019 annual drinking water quality reports provided on the village website did not mention asbestos testing. 

The county test filed on the Environmental Protection Agency's website dates back to 2003 and found no defects in the village's water. However, the US Environmental Protection Agency also pointed out that Altamont was cited by the state government three times for violations during the same period, usually because the disinfectant content in the water was higher than the allowable level. 

Altamont Police Chief Jason Johnston said that the scam appeared to be "related to a special situation [PNC] is running, and people can obtain account opening funds in this way."

The Gilderland Township Committee is the lead agency of the State Environmental Quality Review Act and determined that the project "will not have a significant impact on the environment."

GUILDERLAND-Farnsworth Middle School’s early morning fire alarm did not close the school

Altamont Enterprise focuses on ultra-localized, high-quality news reporting. We produce free election guides, plan readers’ opinions, and participate in important local issues. Subscription gives full access to our work and makes it possible.

Copyright © 2013 Altamont Enterprise. Albany County, New York