Expose fiberglass inside the ac duct or plenum.

[RICHARD TAN]

Hi Jerry,

I heard this in a seminar (FABI or ASHI), that in the State of California that fiberglass wool is link to cancer, is there a concern breathing fiberlass wool or derbis?

[Jerry Peck - Codeman]

Hi Richard,

I heard this in a seminar (FABI or ASHI), that in the State of California that fiberglass wool is link to cancer, is there a concern breathing fiberlass wool or derbis?

The best answer is: No, but ... yes, for many individuals breathing in fiberglass insulation fibers can cause or irritate existing respiratory problems.

"Causing cancer" is a different story than causing irritation.

From the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association:
- http://www.naima.org/pages/resources/faq/faq_fiber.html
- - Does fiber glass cause cancer in people?
- - - No. The International Agency for Cancer Research recently removed fiber glass from its list of possible carcinogens, based on its review of more than 15 years of research. Research conducted over the past 70 years shows that exposure levels are low, and that, even if inhaled into the lung, most fibers disappear quickly with no adverse health effects.

From the American Lung Association:
- http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35439
- - Is Fiberglass Insulation Safe?
- - - Yes, fiberglass building insulation is safe when it is properly installed.
- - - Direct contact with fiberglass materials or exposure to airborne fiberglass dust may irritate the skin, eyes, nose and throat. Fiberglass can cause itching due to mechanical irritation from the fibers. This is not an allergic reaction to the material. Breathing fibers may irritate the airways resulting in coughing and a scratchy throat. Some people are sensitive to the fibers, while others are not. Fiberglass insulation packages display cancer warning labels. These labels are required by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) based on determinations made by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP).
- - - - 1994- NTP listed fiberglass as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" based on animal data.
- - - - 1998- The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists reviewed the available literature and concluded glass wool to be "carcinogenic in experimental animals at a relatively high dose, by route(s) of administration, at site(s), of histologic type(s) or by mechanism(s) that are not considered relevant to worker exposures".
- - - - 1999- OSHA and the manufacturers voluntarily agreed on ways to control workplace exposures to avoid irritation. As a result, OSHA has stated that it does not intend to regulate exposure to fiberglass insulation. The voluntary agreement, known as the Health & Safety Partnership Program includes a recommended exposure level of 1.0 fiber per cubic centimeter (f/cc) based on an 8-hour workday and provides comprehensive work practices.
- - - - 2000- The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reported that epidemiological studies of glass fiber manufacturing workers indicate "glass fibers do not appear to increase the risk of respiratory system cancer". The NAS supported the exposure limit of 1.0 f/cc that has been the industry recommendation since the early 1990s.
- - - - 2001- The IARC working group revised their previous classification of glass wool being a possible carcinogen. It is currently considered not classifiable as a human carcinogen. Studies done in the past 15 years since the previous report was released, do not provide enough evidence to link this material to any cancer risk.

In California, it seems, "everything" can cause cancer or kill you in some other way. I don't know if that means there is an inherent problem with living in California or whether that is the end result of life ... death ... regardless ... and some people in California are just trying to blame "death" on something other than "natural causes".

I have a different definition of "natural causes" in trying to keep some levity in the discussions about things like that: You get hit and run over by a semi-tractor trailer rig going 70 mph, "naturally" 'you die', it is quite a "natural" result of that accident, thus, then, you died of "natural" causes - right?

Somewhere I read about someone dying of lung cancer ... at the age of 103 ... What, that person was going to live forever? That person outlived most of the population on earth, and they blame that person's death on lung cancer? What if it was lung cancer which kept that person alive until the age of 103?

Hopefully you can see the humor in the above. And take many dire warnings with the appropriate grain of salt, while not dismissing all dire warnings outright as some actually "make sense".