JLC ??SEPTEMBER 1991
According to a recent statement
written by Gerard
Scannell, assistant secretary of
the Occupational and Safety
Health Administration
(OSHA), fiberglass insulation
now requires labels stating
that the material causes lung
cancer in humans.
OSHA already requires
material safety data sheets for
fiberglass insulation. These
sheets merely say fiberglass
wool is classified as a possible
cause of cancer in animals and
recommend that workers
avoid contact and wear respirators
— a less serious warning
than that specified in
Scannell's statement.
Scannell's statement,
written in a letter to Richard
Munson, president of an
association called Victims of
Fiberglass, says there is
"positive human evidence,
based on one valid
study…indicating [that fiberglass
has] carcinogenic effects
in humans." Under OSHA's
Hazard Communication
Standard, this is grounds for
requiring all fiberglass insulation
manufacturers to include
warning labels