Hello Mumsnet people. I'm new here. :-)
This is in the "Property-DIY" section, but it could be under "Ethical living".
This is a call for regulation changes in the retail of Man-made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF), especially fibreglass.
Some of you may already be aware of the dangers.
In the last couple of years the dangers of particulates have taken centre stage, with the introduction of ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zones) for traffic in London. We
also had the case of the first case of asthma-pollution death in London.
A recent report has highlighted the peak in hospital admissions for heart attacks and stokes on high pollution days.
Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) first appeared in the 1990s and is apparently making a comeback. With SBS, a person will enter a building (an office for example) and develop health conditions: migraine, difficulty breathing, and more long term problems. Most of the time the person will not be aware of the underlying cause.
Http://fibreglassawareness.com has a long list of these symptoms/conditions.
I mentioned ULEZ and the recent report on hospital admissions for a reason.
The DIY trend is on the up (5-8% from a decade ago), and anybody can go and buy insulation rolls from homestores.
The problem is there is a lot of confusion about fibreglass. While asbestos was banned, we pretty much have the impression the replacements are harmless. But this is not the case.
You only need a small amount of fibreglass dust to contaminate an area (a small flat). The dust gets embedded in clothes, and is virtually impossible to wash out. It continues to break down and becomes airborne.
The particulate size is the same as the "dangerous" ones from traffic (PM 2.5).
Cross-contamination
If FG-contaminated clothes comes into contact with someone else's clothes, that person will then be carrying it around. They will breathe it (migraines, breathing difficulties), and it will contaminate their
home.
MMVF is "probably OK" if you're young and not asthmatic.
If you're older and/or asthmatic, we are probably looking at the same reports as "peak pollution days".
Since 2018 and into 2019 the European Parliament has started debating about MMVF, calling for better warnings on packaging (www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/partner_article/eu-urged-act-possible-health-risks-mineral-wool). This would be a start, as the packaging I've seen only carried a small dermatitis warning, partially covered by a sticker.
Companies using fibreglass have to carry out risk assessments. The consumer is left out of the loop. HSE won't advise you: you're not a company. I have
contacted 20 associations and organisations in the last
few month: British Lung, Asthma, ROSPA, Health, etc.
Always the same two answers: we don't know, and contact HSE.
There's only so much one can do, but spreading information is one step. I have seen so many examples online of contaminated clothes, advice, (even recently contaminated memory foam mattresses), confusion (one reviewer thought it was recycled wool), people spending hundreds on new clothes. I could go on.
Let's make the change happen!
Thanks for reading.