insulation safety?

[John Doe]

Recently, a friend came over to my house and noticed my house's insulation. The roof is insulated with glass fibre batts. He claims that the glass fibres are similar to asbestos and are responsible for various respiratory problems.
My query is firstly; are any of his claims about glass fibres being harmful after prolonged exposure valid or simply misinformation.
And secondly, are there any major advantages or disadvantages with glass fibre over cotton or cellulose fibre?

 

[Shivverinn!]

Having worked in the insulation industry for almost 15 years, i can honestly say that fibre glass is perfectly safe to have in your roof space.
Even working with it for prolonged periods is perfectly safe,but a few people have jumped on the compensation bandwagon, and in your loft there is little or no chance of fibres making their way into your living quarters.
Fibreglass is better than other types of insulation, mainly because unlike cotton/polystyrene etc etc it is not flammable and wont help your house to burn should you have an electrical fire in the roof space.
Methinks your friend was trying to sell you a new type of insulation when in fact the one you've got is perfectly safe and more to the point already in place!

 

[GwaiLo]

John,
the truth is that there is a wide variety of opinion as to the health risks associated with mad made mineral fibres MMMF (including glass fibre). Shivverinn has his own opinion, which one hopes he has formed by reading the evidence. Unfortunately working with the material safely for 15 years offers no reassurance as mesothelioma, the lung cancer some claim can be caused by exposure, will not become evident until at least 20 years from first exposure.

I wouldn't worry about MMMF in my loft, but I do think it best to read the evidence for yourself. You can start here

I should add that this is the web site of an MMMF manufacturer and even they don't claim it is perfectly safe. However, remember that the alternatives all have drawbacks too.