tentative-proof that Fiberglass is relatively harmless

Any fibrous material that enters the lungs is bad for them. Cotton, wool, inorganic fibres, all have deleterious effects. These are not necessarily carcinogenic.

The German approach was to formulate insulation glass fibres so that they dissolved in the pulmonary fluids, rather than remain as fibrous bodies. The specification was known as KI-40.

IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, I believe) had declared fiberglass wool a 2 B carcinogen but backed down to class 3. OSHA still requires warning but is non-specific. Any inhaled material that is not expelled or dissolves in lungs can be harmfull. Frank

Further NTP (National Toxicology Program) has listed. Unfortunately their site is tought to search an Googling leads to secondary sources. Use of cas number is not specific enough either. Frank

Appreciate the information as I did not know that the Germans were formulating a better fiberglass.

But I think the claim -- "Any fibrous material that enters the lungs is bad for them" needs science research for an answer. Because, what is the difference between having gone through a Middle East sand storm and having crawled through a attic without respirator. We cannot just say-- all fibers are bad when breathed.

There has to be some science rationale as to why a long object of silicon is worse than a grain of silicon. If the rationale was that whenever long objects that are longer than a white blood cell can tackle makes sense.

But to just say-- all fibers are bad is not scientific unless some rationale is given and it is tested and shown to be the case.

Just opening up some toilet paper emits alot of fibrous wood products. And why should millions of people who endure sand storms not come down with lung cancer?

Why is objects of long length in the lungs more dangerous than roundish objects or flat plate like objects or other geometrics. Some rationale has to be given and tested and shown to be the case.

Archimedes Plutonium, a snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

Frank, is there any data on the frequency of lung cancer in places where there is alot of windstorms blowing alot of dirt, dust and sand around? I remember seeing an Iraq windstorm as the troops marched on Baghdad. Whether lung cancer has higher frequency in those places over other places.

Archimedes Plutonium, a snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

There is a lot of stuff out there. Here's a first Google hit:

(snipped what I wrote)

I don't think that report is sound in that the smokers were amoung the statistics.

I am not saying that an environment of silicon dust or fibers is nonharmful. I am saying that the millions of years of evolution of the human lung is able to cope in a sand-silica dust storms.

I was asking for a report as to whether geography of sand dust storm regions of the Earth have a higher rate of Lung cancer than does other regions. I was not asking for a report on people in an artificial environment of purified silica.

Too much of anything in purity maybe cancerous. Maybe if one breathes high purity oxygen is likely to come down with lung cancer. Anyone done a test on whether lung cancer is initiated by breathing pure oxygen?

Archimedes Plutonium whole entire Universe is just one big atom where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

I think you missed my point. There is a lot of data out there and it is up to you to find it. Frank

There has been medical research for at least a century on the effects of fibrous materials on the lungs, be that material cotton or an inorganic like asbestos or very fine glass fibres. If you want to do scientific research, why not read up the literature on what has been done already before you start hares running?

All AP can run is his mouth and he hasn't read the operator's manual for that.

Gordon

That's a good way to put it! Archie is somewhat naive but he does help keep ng's juices flowing ;) Frank