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Many retired people throughout the UK are experiencing breathing problems due to having been exposed to asbestos fibres in the past. This may lead to them making an asbestosis compensation claim.
However, there is another material which has similar properties, uses and health risks to asbestos, which is often overlooked, and that is fibreglass.
What is it made of?
Fibreglass became known as such in 1938 when US inventor, Russell Games Slayter, produced it and it started to be used as insulation, similarly to asbestos. It is made of tiny fibres of glass, and added as reinforcement to plastics such as eproxy.
Since then, fibreglass has not only been used as insulation but also in the manufacture of boat hulls, shower curtains, baths and pipes, to name just a few. The Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers of London states that there are more than 40,000 uses for glass fibre, commercial and domestic purposes combined.
Health problems
Not only can the glass fibres in fibreglass cause skin, eye, nose and throat irritation if handled without correct protection, but it is liable to cause lung problems just like an asbestosis-related disease. If inhaled, tiny fibres can get caught in the lungs and lead to scarring of tissue or cancerous tumours. Inhaling larger fibres of fibreglass may even lead to stomach problems.
Those most at risk of inhaling this hazardous glass dust are individuals working directly with the material, trimming, cutting, sanding or sawing sheets of it, and those in close proximity to work colleagues who are undertaking these tasks.
Just as some families have been unlucky enough to be affected by asbestosis through the clothes of a husband or father coming home from working with the dangerous material, fibreglass fibres can also cling to clothing, get caught in carpeting, and make their way through air conditioning and heating ducts.
Staying safe
When working with fibreglass, individuals should have protective clothing and use other personal safety equipment to reduce the risk of inhaling fibres, or dust becoming lodged in their skin.
When removing fibreglass, for example from a home, dampening the sheets of fibreglass will prevent or reduce the amount of fibres which may escape into the air when disturbed. Similar techniques are used when removing sheets of asbestos.
Seeking fibreglass or asbestos compensation
If you have worked with fibreglass or asbestos and are suffering health problems because your employers did not warn you of the risks or did not provide you with appropriate protective clothing and equipment, then we could help you make an industrial disease compensation claim.
To contact one of our helpful advisers and talk about your fibreglass or asbestos compensation case, simply phone us on 0800 10 757 95, or chat over the internet using live help. Alternatively, if you would rather be contacted at another time, fill in our short online claim form or request a call back.
