Mineral wool is a source of release of formaldehyde into the air, which is a poison. However, the state bodies that control the production of this insulation, believe that its concentration does not exceed the norm, if all the requirements of the application are observed.
The production of mineral wool is increasing every year, since the demand for it as a heat and sound insulating material is growing. However, each country in its own way classifies the degree of danger of mineral wool to humans. With extreme caution, Germany uses mineral fibers in the construction of residential buildings, considering them potentially dangerous. In the market of building materials, mineral wool is usually called stone wool, although this term hides all types of such insulation.
What is the potential danger of each species
Mineral wool refers to fiber made from materials such as glass, stone, slag. Depending on the feedstock, it is called, respectively, glass wool, slag or stone (basalt) wool.
80% in the manufacture of glass wool is represented by cullet, there are also limestone and soda, etibor and sand. The main disadvantage of the obtained material is its fragility and brittleness. In the process, the smallest particles of glass wool can easily penetrate not only under clothing, but also in the respiratory tract. Therefore, for safety reasons, work in overalls should be performed, covering his face with a respirator and goggles. Clothes are not subject to subsequent cleaning and washing.
The basis of slag wool is blast furnace slag, which tends to form an aggressive environment for metals due to residual acidity. Slag wool fibers are no less brittle than glass wool.
Stone wool is made from rocks of the gabbro-basalt group. Its fibers can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees, although the binder is only 250. They are not at all sharp, as in the previous two cases, therefore stone wool is most often used to warm walls and roofs in housing.
But besides fragility of fibers, a potential danger to human health, according to organizations fighting for the ecological cleanliness of dwellings, lies in the carcinogenic properties of mineral wool fibers. In the production of mineral wool, a binder is used - formaldehyde resin, which is capable of releasing formaldehyde into the surrounding space.
