Mineral wool: the illusion of environmental safety
Many consider mineral wool to be a safe natural thermal insulation material.But after familiarizing yourself with its actual chemical composition and production process, it is impossible to call the material harmless.
As the raw materials for mineral wool are used, as the manufacturers say, natural rocks (basalt, gabbro, limestone). That is why the name of the product contains the beautiful word “mineral”. Sounds like a natural and environmentally friendly product. But are these definitions justified?
During the production process, rocks lose their original appearance, turning into thin, brittle and crumbly mineral fiber. And to give it strength, various impurities are added to the composition - industrial waste, volcanic slag and sedimentary rocks.
Scientists from the Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk) during the study found that the production of mineral wool is possible even from “local raw materials”, namely: from 80% fly ash of the Krasnoyarsk CHPP-1 and 20% limestone from the Torgashinsky deposit. It turns out that the composition of mineral wool fiber may not include rocks at all. And production from industrial waste cannot be environmentally friendly.
Mineral wool cannot be called natural after the raw material is subjected to many physical and chemical influences. The raw material not only loses its characteristics, but also receives harmful impurities that can cause irreparable damage to the respiratory system, entering the lungs along with fine dust that is constantly separated from the mineral wool. A serious consequence can be the development of pulmonary fibrosis, an extremely severe and often incurable lung disease.
Even more arguments in favor of the unsafety of mineral wool can be found in scientific research.Thus, the article “Assessing the risk of damage to health from exposure to fine mineral wool dust” (“Kazan Medical Journal”, Vol. 95, No. 4, 2014) describes a study conducted by a group of scientists from the St. Petersburg State University of Transport (PGUPS). During the analysis of the composition of mineral wool dust, compounds of heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc) were discovered, which can provoke the development of pathologies of the cardiovascular system.
It turns out that the mineral wool fiber itself is unsafe for human health. However, that's not all. According to GOST 9573-2012, phenol-formaldehyde resins are added to the thermal insulation material. They make the fiber denser and allow it to keep its shape. GOST 12.1.007-76 “System of occupational safety standards (OSSS). Harmful substances. Classification and general safety requirements” classifies these resins as “highly hazardous substances”. They are on the same level as chlorine, bromine and even phosgene, a chemical warfare agent.
Already during the operation of mineral wool, phenol-formaldehyde resins release their initial components into the air - formaldehyde and phenol. Both of these substances are extremely toxic and can lead to chronic poisoning of the body, irritation of the respiratory tract, and also negatively affect the central nervous system. Formaldehyde is also included in the list of carcinogenic factors in SanPiN 1.2.2353-08.
The conclusion suggests itself. The environmental friendliness of mineral wool is a fiction and an illusion of safety for our health.
