Fibreglass loft insulation

[KevinS]

Following on from a previous post where the OP was slightly paranoid that he was going to die due to drilling one hole is what he thought was asbestos.
does anyone know, or read a report about what fibreglass loft insulation is doing to us.
is fibreglass inhalation going to be the disease of the future?
i for one hate the stuff.

 

[Stuuk1]

Asbestos causes cancer due to the fact the lungs can't break down the fibres. I can't see how the lungs can break down glass fibres... Therefore I too expect it to be banned in the near future. I always wear a mask, but like many I'm lazy and don't shave an awful lot so the mask isn't a perfect fit and I haven't gone down the route of buying an expensive one.


MDF is banned in America, that's saying something! It's the glue inside which when cut and turned in to a dust/powder is not good for you.

I've torn ceiling and walls down etc before I did any asbestos courses and I now know that it was all asbestos. Asbestos courses are worth their weight n golf and I would certainly recommend anyone in a trade to book themselves up, even if its a 2 hour online course.

 

[Pondy]

Ive been in this trade four years, which means it was normally me in the loft as the apprentice rewiring upstairs lights, and it always made me cough and my arms itch,but what really made me mask up was the guy on the asbestos training course who pointed out,if its irritanting my arms, whats it doing to my delicate lungs....makes you think.......moral is mask up guys, a good quality mask as well, it aint worth it

 

[amlu]

is not about breaking up, more about coughing the stuff out, you can cough up fibreglass, you cant with asbestos. they get stuck in your lungs.

 

[sparks55]

In America they've been removing fibreglass with the same methods as asbestos for over 25 years
But we still go up and look at circuits in old lofts with no masks

 

[Essexboy7]

A few times over the last couple of years if i have seen chippies cutting up MDF not in an enclosed ventilated area i have gone straight to H+S and complained.They hate you for doing it because it stops the job but every time they have taken action about it.That tells me they know its dangerous, otherwise they would just have told me to go away.I think in Australia they have banned MDF as well as in America

 

[TAZ]

From what i understand alot of the thermoplastic floor tiles laid in houses on the ground floor back in the fifties & sixties contained asbestos as well as textured ceilings artex etc. even the humble ironing board cover. As a previous poster has mentioned it was used in so many products, storage heaters also contained some. I would be interested to know if we are all going to have to start carry out an asbestos risk assesment everytime we carry out work in older dwellings to verify it is not present even a ceiling that has been reskimmed could release the fibres when cutting holes for downlights etc.

 

[MDJ]

I have always wondered about fibre glass too guys myself, In my opinion it it dangerous, I have swallowed loads of the stuff and it is usually covered with dust as well, the last 5 years or so I have been very strict by wearing masks and wouldn't go in a loft now without one, but if it is discovered to be bad, then I have had it I bet, doom and gloom and all that, right beer time :biggrin5:

 

[sparkdog]

I have to wear a mask anyway otherwise I start choking and coughing after a couple of minutes if there is fibre glass around.

 

[snowhead]

I would be interested to know if we are all going to have to start carry out an asbestos risk assesment everytime we carry out work in older dwellings to verify it is not present even a ceiling that has been reskimmed could release the fibres when cutting holes for downlights etc.

You should already have been doing this and you should have had awareness training, whether you are employed or self employed.

 

[maxfresh]

speaking of mdf when i was in secondary school (15 yrs ago) our woodwork teacher would be cutting loads of mdf ,bloody dust everywhere

 

[Robson689]

speaking of mdf when i was in secondary school (15 yrs ago) our woodwork teacher would be cutting loads of mdf ,bloody dust everywhere

I left school only about 5 months ago and we used to cut our own MDF no dust masks and no ventilation so yeah, nothing has changed!

 

[shanky887614]

horrible when you get sweaty and it stats to stick, then comes the itching

 

[IanHug]

speaking of mdf when i was in secondary school (15 yrs ago) our woodwork teacher would be cutting loads of mdf ,bloody dust everywhere

We didn't have MDF when I was as school. Only just invented electricity.