Nevertheless, it may be time for builders and design professionals to reevaluate the cost of using this product now that the Department of Health and Human Service's has added it to its list of suspected carcinogens. Finer glass fibers have a greater tendency to become air-borne and, therefore, may be more hazardous to one's health, although this is still not a proven fact and may not be a proven fact for sometime because of opposition by fiberglass insulation manufacturers. With almost three-quarters of the 2 billion dollars spent by Americans for insulation each year going for the pink fiberglass suspected carcinogen, we may be headed for a 'fatal attraction'. Fortunately, there are alternatives to fiberglass insulation that contain no suspected carcinogen, are environmentally friendly, and utilize recycled materials.
Cellulose insulation is one attractive alternative to fiberglass.
Although the cost of fiberglass compared with cellulose materials is about the same, the labor to install the cellulose is more. The cellulose is blown into attic cavities and is typically made from shredded newspaper. The same product can be drypacked into wall cavities after gypsum board is in place or with the aid of screening. Another method of applying cellulose to wall cavities is by spraying a wet slurry into the open wall cavities. When specifying cellulose insulation, be sure that you also specify that the fire retardant be boric acid with a boron additive to control smoldering.