Anyone heard of how harmful fiberglass insulation is to our lungs?

Hi, I am new to the site. Just this last Friday I had my heating company come out for the last time. For over a year now my home was seriously dusty. I started coughing, pain in my lungs with heaviness not to mention numerous other issues. This company installed a new furnace as well as duct cleaning. They told me at first the dust was from my pets. Well that was not the case, back to Friday. I eas told my cold intake in my attic had separated about 2 inches and was buried under my blow in insulation. So for a year and a month I have breathed in insulation and now have issues. I called my doctor right away and made an appointment for next week. The heating company blew this off and now are scrambling to fix the dust issue- which is really insulation. What am I to expect now with my health, my lungs. I am sick and can’t breathe very well.

Wow, that could be significant exposure to irritants - especiallyifit is blown in fiberglass. What it means for you in the short and long term will be a topic for discussion with your doctor.

Be sure to bag some of the insulation now, so I there should be disputes in the future, you have proof of what was in your attic. Also make sure the heating company has documented the separation. If they took pictures, try to get copies.

If I were in this situation, I would demand a thorough duct cleaning on their dime, but by an independent company, and if you doctor recommends it a full cleaning of all other soft furnishings and upholstery, carpet cleaning, maybe even walls and ceilings.

Next, make sure anyone living with you gets checked out too - early exposure to irritating substances can set kids up for lifelong lung problems.

Will you let us know how this works out?

Yes I will post back what I find out from my doctor. Also the heating company is the one who caused the separation from cleaning my ducts after the furnace was installed. They are liable and scheduled a free cleaning and new filter at no cost. I have a lot of clean up to do which I am sure they will not pay for. As for others in the home, it is just myself and three dogs.

Some (many) times, "the squeaky wheel" gets results. In your shoes, I would speak politely but firmly to the head of the company. If they are a reputable business, they have insurance to cover just such circumstances, and you need to press for them to take care of it.
If it is fiberglass or vermiculite insulation, special precautions need to be taken in the cleanup as these are both a lung irritant, but also a physical one. If it is "rock wool" it is still a lung irritant in its dust state.
Please be proactive and get this cleaned up according to accepted protocols to protect you and your pets.

I have just about decided in the last couple of years that we almost need a third party to check the work of the second party. It has just about come to that with recent attitudes toward work being done. About 15 years ago I also came to the conclusion that it was going to get harder and harder to find people to do the needed work, who have the right attitude of doing a good job, who are honest and fair. Good people are out there we just have to take the time to find them and as well I find that doing my homework ahead of time, research, helps a great deal. Not saying that I don't get caught and find I fell down and lost site of my guidelines in hiring someone or forgetting an aspect of what needed to be done and didn't get done by the workers, it happens.

Due to my having gone through much with construction items in the last 50 plus years I agree with all you have said Sue.

It is especially important to hold companies and people accountable otherwise they continue to go about doing things the way that they want and often not good to the one paying the bills. The problem is it can be stressful and costly if we have to "fight' them to do right by us. But try we must, when we can, for many reasons, I know because I try to "fight" when needed, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It depends upon our choice of who we hired and their attitude about right from wrong and doing right by their customer.
Barbara

Is the fiberglass used in cement foundations somehow safer than the fiberglass in wall insulations. I have had the reactions you are talking about, wheezing, loss of voise, coughing, that were relieved by albuterol inhaler, after working around the dust from my cement flooring. I am around the dust daily without protection since the building was constructed 20 years ago. I have multiple pulmonary nodules 6 mm and less, but growing and causing sob and low pulmonary oxygen when sedentary and when sleeping. The PET scan showed the nodules are cold.

Working in cement dust for an extended time can be hazardous to lungs, but a finished cement floor in a home, garage or factory should not be producing that type of dust unless it is unsealed, or being abraded somehow.
Household and environmental dust can cause reactions in sensitive people, the key is to use good cleaning and an air filter to minimize it.

What industry do you work in?

@jasmine1234 Sheep Wool is safe and better than fiberglass.

I have run a construction company for 29 years and designed and built green rated energy star rated and award winning homes. But when I helped deign and make decision for a client who wanted and LEED platinum certified home and found out that the international certification board considers important for indoor air quality. It blew my mind. I always had concerns but now I knew for sure what was wrong with conventional building practices in America. Fact. Hospitals and medical facilities are required to use metal ductwork with external wrapped insulation. This eliminates contamination into our air. 99% of residential houses have fiberglass insulation with external aluminum foil. This typical ductboard has a joint every 4 feet and is also very prone to crushing and even animals can get into it very easily. It cuts with a steak knife. After I found out the LEED homes give points for using metal I changed my entire home over to mini split ac units. I saved 30 percent on my electric bills but I also eliminated the need for ductwork all together. I have seen houses that I have remodeled with so much ductwork issues that you can see it in the air. Like a lot of it in the air. And I even had one client with an oxygen tank and copd from her house she had built custom in 1971 and lived in for 40 plus years. I found the problem. A piece of internal fiberglass insulation in a metal duct had come loose and was hanging in the 90 degree corner of the main trunk line where 5 tons of filters and conditioned air was pushing thru a turbulent corner to supply that good clean air to the entire house but now with a fresh batch of fiberglass fibers.

I work work and install fiberglass insulation all the time and it’s irritating and I have to use soap and water and green scratchy pad to exfoliate my skin vigorously to get it out of my skin. But when you breathe air everyday all day long for decades that has fiberglass in it. Well I let you decide but my family and every client I’ve built any kind of ductwork for the last 17 years has been able to rest easy knowing they got some actually healthy air to breathe.

I got lots to say about the ductless systems. But at least replace your ductwork and definitely do not have it cleaned with anything that slaps the inside of the ductwork as this causes the skin on the fiberglass to open up exposing even more fibers to the air passing by.

Wall hinges mini splits is what I’ve done know for many years and it’s simple easy to replace inexpensive and best of all no ductwork. Ever.

@ivans Interesting, thank you for posting this information. We've recently had mini splits installed and I am amazed at how infrequently the boiler kicks on. Reduction in monthly energy bills has been dramatic, especially the shoulder months. Glad we did not go the ducted route, and delighted to have maintained closet and storage spaces.

Can you say more about the cleaning of the air handlers with the mini splits? I watched a This Old House video on how to and it looks involved but quite necessary as mold and other can grow behind them.