Dust Particle Identification Screen for Fiberglass Particles - Test Laboratory
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Example Dust Analysis Lab Findings
Screening House Dust for Fiberglass
Comparing Fabric Fibers to Fiberglass Particles in Housedust
Microscopic identification of fiberglass
Lab and field photographs of fiberglass insulation products
Guide to fiberglass fragment identification in the laboratory

House dust test procedure or other building dust sampling: this indoor air quality testing article describes the process for laboratory identification of fiberglass hazards in air or in settled dust samples collected in residential and light-commercial buildings. Our page top photo shows a vacuum sample of fiberglass building insulation. The bonding resin is plainly visible in our lab photo - often the color of the binding resin in fiberglass insulation helps trace insulation dust in a building back to its source. Not all fiberglass insulation includes resin binders however.

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Simple Method for Identifying Contents of House Dust to Screen for Building Insulation

This article describes easy steps taken in the forensic lab that permit reliable particle identification and distinguishing among fiberglass insulation, mineral wool or "rock wool" and cotton or other fibers.

For instructions on how to collect surface dust for lab analysis, see DUST SAMPLING PROCEDURE where we also discuss finding mold in indoor dust samples. Readers concerned with fiberglass in building dust (discussed here) should also see FIBERGLASS HAZARDS and also Insulation Products MSDS and Fiberglass Insulation Exposure Limits.

Photographs of Unbonded Fiberglass Insulation - "Blowing Wools"

Certainteed blown in fiberglass (C) Daniel Friedman

Above (left) we show a macro photograph of white blown-in unbonded InsulSafe® building insulation sold by CertainTeed and provided by a homeowner who asked our lab to study dust samples from her home.

At above right is the same insulation shown in the stereo microscrope at about 20x, and below the same material is magnified to 720x.

Comparing Fiberglass Fibers to Fabric Fibers in House Dust

fibers not fiberglass (C) Daniel Friedman

Above (left) we show a 720x micro-photograph of white blown-in unbonded InsulSafe® building insulation sold by CertainTeed. At above right our photo shows the dominant particles in the dust sample from the home under study.

Magnified to 720x the fibers we found were primarily cotton, with some linen and a few synthetic fabric fibers. There was virtually none of the insulation fibers provided for comparison (above left) as a possible source of dust in the home.

Above (left) a client photo shows a heavy and rapid dust accumulation on building surfaces. At above right our lab photo shows that the prime contents of the dust were fabric fibers and starch granules, not building insulation in this case. - DF & WW 6/2010.

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DUST ANALYSIS for FIBERGLASS

DUST SAMPLING PROCEDURE

FIBERGLASS HAZARDS

MOLD TEST KITS for DIY MOLD TESTS

Fiberglass building insulation and HVAC duct work insulation hazards
Fiberglass carcinogenicity: Glass Wool Fibers Expert Panel Report, Part B - Recommendation for Listing Status for Glass Wool Fibers and Scientific Justification for the Recommendation", The Report on Carcinogens (RoC) expert panel for glass wool fibers exposures met at the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel, Chapel Hill, North Carolina on June 9-10, 2009, to peer review the draft background document on glass wool fibers exposures and make a recommendation for listing status in the 12th Edition of the RoC. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is one of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Toxicology Program is headquartered on the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, NC.
Fiberglass insulation mold: occurrence of mold contamination in fiberglass insulation can be impossible to see with the naked eye, but can be significant

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
Environmental Health & Investigation Bibliography - our technical library on indoor air quality inspection, testing, laboratory procedures, forensic microscopy, etc.
Adkins and Adkins Dictionary of Roman Religion discusses Robigus, the Roman god of crop protection and the legendary progenitor of wheat rust fungus.
Kansas State University, department of plant pathology, extension plant pathology web page on wheat rust fungus: see http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/path-ext/factSheets/Wheat/Wheat%20Leaf%20Rust.asp
"A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home", U.S. Environmental Protection Agency US EPA - includes basic advice for building owners, occupants, and mold cleanup operations. See http://www.epa.gov/mold/moldguide.htm
US EPA - Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Building [Copy on file at /sickhouse/EPA_Mold_Remediation_in_Schools.pdf ] - US EPA
US EPA - Una Breva Guia a Moho - Hongo [Copy on file as /sickhouse/EPA_Moho_Guia_sp.pdf - en Espanol

Fiberglass in buildings: hazards, testing, cleanup, prevention: references & products

For more information about fiberglass as an indoor air quality concern see:

Asbestos: How to find and recognize asbestos in buildings - visual inspection methods, list of common asbestos-containing materials (Asbestos is not fiberglass and vice versa).
BASEMENT MOLD includes examples of moldy fiberglass insulation found in basements
CRAWLSPACE MOLD includes additional examples of moldy fiberglass insulation found in crawl spaces
Duct System Defects
Fiberglass in Indoor Air, HVAC ducts, and Building Insulation, Indoor Air Quality Investigations, building insulation and HVAC duct work insulation hazards
FIBERGLASS HAZARDS
Fiberglass Particle Identification in the Fiberglass Test Laboratory
Fiberglass References - Government Agencies & Authorities list of public documents on fiberglass
Goodman Gray Flex Duct Deterioration and Failures
INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT
Insulation Identification Photographs - Fiberglass insulation photos, yellow, pink, green, white fiberglass identification in building attics, walls, ducts, other locations
Insulation Identification Photographs - Cellulose insulation photos, Mineral wool insulation photos, rock wool insulation photos, cotton insulation photos, balsam wool insulation photos
Insulation Identification Photographs - Vermiculite insulation photos
Lab Identification of Fiberglass photographs and text assist in laboratory identification of fiberglass fibers and fragments in air, dust, or material samples in the laboratory using forensic microscopic techniques.
Mold in Fiberglass building insulation, when, why, and how fiberglass becomes a reservoir of problem mold in buildings.
AIR FILTERS, OPTIMUM INDOOR
Owens Corning Flex Duct Deterioration and Failures
World Trade Center Dust Particle Identification
Fiberglass carcinogenicity: "Glass Wool Fibers Expert Panel Report, Part B - Recommendation for Listing Status for Glass Wool Fibers and Scientific Justification for the Recommendation", The Report on Carcinogens (RoC) expert panel for glass wool fibers exposures met at the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel, Chapel Hill, North Carolina on June 9-10, 2009, to peer review the draft background document on glass wool fibers exposures and make a recommendation for listing status in the 12th Edition of the RoC. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is one of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Toxicology Program is headquartered on the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, NC. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is one of the National Institutes of Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The National Toxicology Program is headquartered on the NIEHS campus in Research Triangle Park, NC.
Following a discussion of the body of knowledge, the expert panel reviewed the RoC listing criteria and made its recommendation. The expert panel recommended by a vote of 8 yes/0 no that glass wool fibers, with the exception of special fibers of concern (characterized physically below), should not be classified either as known to be a human carcinogen or reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. The expert panel also recommended by a vote of 7 yes/0 no/1 abstention, based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in well-conducted animal inhalation studies, that special-purpose glass fibers with the physical characteristics as follows longer, thinner, less soluble fibers (for 1 example, > 15 μm length with a kdis of < 100 ng/cm2/h) are reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen for the listing status in the RoC. The major considerations discussed that led the panel to its recommendation include the observations of tumors in multiple species of animals (rats and hamsters). Both inhalation and intraperitoneal routes of exposure produced tumors, although inhalation was considered more relevant for humans.
Fiberglass insulation mold: occurrence of mold contamination in fiberglass insulation can be impossible to see with the naked eye, but can be significant
World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer - IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans - VOL 81 Man-Made Vitreous Fibers, 2002, IARCPress, Lyon France, pi-ii-cover-isbn.qxd 06/12/02 14:15 Page i - World Health Organization, 1/21/1998. - Fiberglass insulation is an example of what IARC refers to as man made vitreous fiber - inorganic fibers made primarily from glass, rock, minerals, slag, and processed inorganic oxides. This article provides enormous detail about fiberglass and other vitreous fibers, and includes fiberglass exposure data.
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol81/mono81.pdf - the article (large PDF over 6MB)
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol81/mono81-6A.pdf - article details
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol81/mono81-6C.pdf - studies of cancer in experimental animals in re vitreous fibers such as fiberglass;
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol81/mono81-6E.pdf - summary of data reported & evaluation
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol81/mono81-6F.pdf for the article references
To search the IARC monographs on various environmental concerns and carcinogens, use http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/PDFs/index.php
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Simple Method for Identifying Contents of House Dust to Screen for Building Insulation

Photographs of Unbonded Fiberglass Insulation - "Blowing Wools"

Comparing Fiberglass Fibers to Fabric Fibers in House Dust

Questions & Answers regarding this article

Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia

Technical Reviewers & References

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

Fiberglass in buildings: hazards, testing, cleanup, prevention: references & products