Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Canada: Canada's opposition has blasted the national government for ignoring its own scientists' advice to stop mining and exporting the insulating material asbestos, one week before a major UN conference on dangerous products. New Democratic Party MPs also accused the Conservative government of blocking the UN listing of chrysotile asbestos as toxic so that it would be strictly regulated.

The MPs, backed by more than 200 scientists and health organisations from around the world that signed a letter urging the government to act, said that internal government emails revealed that Health Canada had pressed Ottawa to recognise the product mined in Quebec as dangerous.

New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin said, "It's appalling, it's a disgrace, it's an international shame and it gives a big black eye to Canada's boy-scout image around the world if we're dumping this carcinogen into unsuspecting developing nations." India, Indonesia and the Philippines, among others are major importers of Canadian asbestos.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis countered, saying that, "Canada has promoted the safe and secure use of chrysotile asbestos for 30 years both nationwide and internationally." He pointed to scientific reviews that found that it could be used under controlled conditions.

US: Knauf Insulation, a manufacturer of fibreglass insulation used in new homes, is halting production at its plant in nearby Lanett, Alabama a move that will see layoffs for 146 employees. Joey Viselli, Knauf's vice president of marketing, said that the 800,000ft² facility would be shuttered because of the continued and extreme downturn in demand in the home construction sector.

The workers impacted by the move will be will be paid through to 18 August 2011, according to an official notice filed with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Workers were informed of the closure on 14 June 2011, with most being released from their jobs immediately.

"The building economy has taken a turn for the worse in a fairly dramatic way," said Viselli. "At the peak of the market, (the industry was) starting about 1.7 million homes a year in the US. This year we'll be lucky to start 500,000 homes." A report released last month by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau showed privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000.

Viselli said severance deals would be offered and that some workers will be given opportunities to relocate to other Knauf facilities in Shasta, California and Shelbyville, Indiana, where Knauf Insulation North America is headquartered. He added that there were no plans to sell the Lanett plant at this time.

"It is a difficult decision to mothball a plant," said Mark Andrews, CEO of Knauf Insulation. "It is our sincere regret that we must take this action at this time. We will re-examine the status of the Lanett facility as market conditions change."

UK: Land Rover is test-driving a special type of wallboard in an attempt to improve its sustainability. "We are testing phase-change wallboard at our dealer training centre. It moves from solid to liquid and absorbs and releases heat," said Fran Leedham, head of sustainability at Jaguar Land Rover.

UK: The Hub, a building in Barnard Castle, Teesdale, County Durham, has been granted the highest environmental standards rating due to its high levels of insulation and other elements of its design. The building, built on behalf of Teesdale Community Resources was awarded an 'excellent' rating with outstanding credits by the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).

As well as extensive cavity wall insulation, the Hub features a whole host of other sustainable features, including a biomass boiler and an on-site water treatment bio-digester/reed bed, which eliminates the need for external waste connections. It also has a grass roof and a curved glass section to maximise the amount of natural daylight that reaches its concourse.

South Korea: Over 85% of educational facilities in the regions of Seoul have been observed to contain asbestos-containing insulation materials. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has been informed that 1669 kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools in the city have asbestos traits with a contamination of 24.7% of the total surface area.

The high schools had the highest level of contamination, around 90% of facilities built with asbestos-containing materials, whereas the 86% of elementary schools and 84% of middle schools were reported to have asbestos. In every case the asbestos was in found in the ceilings of the schools.

Besides these buildings, some open areas have also been reported to have some presence of microscopic asbestos fibres. Inhaling even small amounts of asbestos can cause damage to the lungs and can leads the development of pleural mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs and can lead to death.