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Time for EU to legislate on #MineralWool ?

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MEPs are being urged to raise awareness of the “potential hazards” of a building material commonly used throughout Europe. Mineral wool is a type of thermal insulation made from rocks and minerals. It has been hailed by the industry as having a key role to play in sustainable buildings and a possible solution to meeting the EU’s much-vaunted targets for energy efficiency in buildings, writes Martin Banks.

However, a new report published in Brussels on Wednesday, appears to cast fresh doubt on the use of mineral wool, or Man-Made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF) as it is also known, for such purposes.

The report acknowledges the urgent need to find more energy and cost-saving ways of insulating homes and offices in the future.

And it says that after asbestos was banned in most countries in the 1990s MMVF has “effectively emerged as the replacement material”.

The report, published at a news briefing at Brussels Press Club, said, “Asbestos might be the insulation of the past but attention is turning to the materials that are being used today, which cause similar levels of concern.”

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It says that, according to some: “MMVF is the new asbestos and we should be just as fearful of its health implications.”

The report, authored by Gary Cartwright, a former researcher in the European Parliament, says that after initially being classified in the past by the WHO and International Agency on the Research on Cancer as carcinogenic and hazardous to humans, mineral wool was declassified as a carcinogenic in 2002.

Even so, the report claims mineral wool may “pose similar risks to asbestos.”

It alleges that past tests on mineral wool gave “misleading results” because a component was missing from the test samples and “the product was not tested as it is actually sold and used.”

“The worry is not only about carcinogenicity. Mineral wool is known to cause skin and lung abnormalities,” it says.

One problem, it adds, is that “little is known about the possible health risks”, including among those in the construction industry and also the general public.

In order to rectify this, copies of the study will be sent to MEPs on relevant parliamentary committees, said Cartwright.

“The aim is to raise awareness about this issue which is surely no bad thing,” he said.

The report quotes a leading pulmonologist, as reportedly saying that “the effects of the fibres of glass wool and stone wool can be compared to those of asbestos.”

The expert is quoted in the report as saying, “The point is that these substances are harmful. But people do not realise it sufficiently. And that is something we have to worry about.”

Although the MMVF industry strongly insists that the product is perfectly safe to use, the report says that “mounting medical evidence points to the health risks associated from handling MMVF.”

Cartwright told the briefing, “The EU still classifies this as a potential hazard. The danger is that fibres can be released into the atmosphere that can be very harmful.”

The report he compiled makes three recommendations, including re-testing of mineral wool and improved legislation to provide improved protection for workers exposed to the substance. It also calls for “more prominent labelling” on the product.

The author suggests the relevant authorities again look at any potential health and safety issues.

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