Just curious.... my room certainly smells like the stuff since i moved them in here. I imagine that the bass does a certain ammount of agitation to the fill, and there is a small vent on the side.
Please let me know if this is a major health concern and please pose some possible solutions. Does keeping the grilles on help?
Thanks
Yes, which is why most building codes no longer allow occupancy where fiberglass insulation is exposed. I have a friend whose brother worked for Owens-Corning's legal department. He always said the asbestos scare, removal, and suits were nothing compared to what he expected from fiberglass insulation claims someday. He said one fiber ingested into your lungs can cause malignancies. I was so glad to hear that since I helped a buddy build a Meyer's Manx dune-buggy one summer and we ate and breathed the fiberglass dust, and it stuck to every sweaty piece of skin on our teenage bodies. Still makes me itch to think about it. Lucky to be alive almost 40-years later, I suppose.Originally Posted by spwal
I find that surprising. It may be true but last I new the stuff was everywhere at the plant. I work at a cement plant (not to be confused with concrete) and a guy from here went to work at corning and he said they had pink stuff like we have dust. (we have dust)I know that particle size has a lot to do with it. It is the smallest particles (I wish I had the sizes handy) that get you. Your lungs are very good at cleaning themselves (unless you smoke) of junk but particles below a certain size your lungs can't clean out. Particle shape is important also sharper is worse. I'll have to look into that. I know things change. There was a time, long after they knew asbestos was bad, when they said no mechanic had ever had health effects from the asbestos from doing brake jobs. That's not what they say today. There are warnings everywhere you might breath silica. Some hazards are in theory and others will get you while you're reading the warning. I have no idea where this one is. I wasn't really aware of fiber glass having a smell. Maybe it's adhesives. They make other material to use in speaker enclosures if someone is concerned about it.
That is somewhat of an isssue to me...
I have a small room and now my room smells like old speakers, most noticable obviously when i walk in and the windows and doors are closed.
I can borrow my gfs ionizer as well as put the grilles on. But at the same time, this doesnt reconcile the fact that the 19s have alot of exposed pink filling lining the cabinet and a front facing vent.
to be fair i was mucking around in there the other day to put the binding posts on (need to get up and under the lining with bare hands) but we were gentle enough.
Smelling something is one thing.... having the particles floating around in the air when i listen to techno is another.
of course, i could not listen to techno, and its not like i do, im just saying. im being somewhat serious here. I dont want to start spraying hair spray and stuff in there, as my woofers are glued in and i dont want to get crap on the cones.
anyone else concerned with this? adn any potential remedies? i am not in any position to take all of this stuff out and put in new lining. These speakers are in my room to stay... there is no moving them to a vented area to work on them for the most part.
thanks
by the way, i have a keen sense of smell, which is why i'm sensitive to the possible hazards of the lining. my gf says she doesn't smell anything.
As far as I know, the fiberglass itself doesn't smell. Could it be some kind of glue you're smelling instead?
John
I would not be concerned. The action of the driver is not as a pump.
The particles, even if suspended, are staying in the cabinet for the most part.
Put the grilles back on to capture what little may be coming out....
I was under the impression that this was new fiberglass. If this is old I doubt that it is fiberglass that you smell. It seams more likely to me that you are smelling something that calls your fiberglass home. I wouldn't speculate as to whether or not is a life form but I can't remember anybody ever complaining about the smell of fiberglass in the room from their speakers and it's just reasonable that it would give off more order when new than when old. I was going to make a joke about who you leave them to and tell you that legionella is pretty quick but sitting in the room with them that might not be too funny. I think you have to identify the oder first. It could be that you'll need a bleach solution but I can't smell them. I'm not really laughing at you. I realize that this is a serious problem for you, but you've heard all the answers I have. You say you disturbed them, so I'm assuming you would have already seen anything with 4 legs.
I don't know if asbestos is safer or not, but particles in the 5 to 7 micron range are the most dangerous... larger ones are flushed and filtered out, and I guess the smaller ones are absorbed. The problem with asbestos is the shape of it's particles along with the fact that it tends to break down into quite a lot of particles in this dangerous size range.
Whether fiberglass is as dangerous as asbestos or not, it certainly should be treated with respect, and you should always wear a respirator, not a silly dust mask, when working with the stuff.
Widget
If the silly dust mask has two straps instead of one it is defined as a respirator, believe it or not. I'm not sure how they got away with that but for osha and msha requirements by putting an upper and lower strap on the training bra cup they can call it a respirator. Doesn't matter, none of them seal properly over the temple pieces of eyeglasses but I'm guessing that's not what you meant by respirator and I agree and just because you cant get it all doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get some. These days they are starting to talk about silicosis and labeling silica containing things as carcinogens. When ever they do any refractory work at our place there are warning signs for silica but I don't see them treating it like asbestos. They do for the people working with it, but for passers buy it's way different than asbestos.
It looks like everybody is agreement; you aren't smelling fiberglass. Your either smelling something that was used where they were stored to keep unfriendlys away or you're smelling something because nothing was used. If you determine that there is no life taking place or even if there is there are plenty of sprays that should fix it. Fiberglass can handle almost anything, so as long as you don't use something with fumes that will eat your speakers you should be fine. Situations like this usually it's the woman smells it and the guy can't and major arguments are generated. Good luck.
Yeah I should say so.Yes, which is why most building codes no longer allow occupancy where fiberglass insulation is exposed. I have a friend whose brother worked for Owens-Corning's legal department. He always said the asbestos scare, removal, and suits were nothing compared to what he expected from fiberglass insulation claims someday. He said one fiber ingested into your lungs can cause malignancies. I was so glad to hear that since I helped a buddy build a Meyer's Manx dune-buggy one summer and we ate and breathed the fiberglass dust, and it stuck to every sweaty piece of skin on our teenage bodies. Still makes me itch to think about it. Lucky to be alive almost 40-years later, I suppose.
I don’t even like the stuff since I suffer from Psoriasis for the past 27 years. I have to deal with my fair share of itching and scratching.
Last time I was around fibreglass was when my dad and I was installing bundles of it for sound insulation around mid late 1990’s. I was itching for the rest of the day, I was bitching and moaning all the time, and my dad was getting feed up at my bitching.
It doesn’t seem to bother him, but then he doesn’t have to worry about Psoriasis 24/7.
I am not sure what sort of fibre glass you guys are talking about but the stuff we have down here is super low allergenic. If you are carefull when handling the stuff, you dont need a mask or gloves. Glass being glass is a very clean product. The fibres are so small that, believe it or not, the body acyually disolves them. Unless you are talking about ingesting a few cups of the stuff a day, medicaly speaking there are no issues with it appart from a bit of itching under certain circumstances.
Allan.
P.S. A hot shower will solve the itching problem.
I wouldn't make such statements so glibly. Let me reiterate what I wrote in this thread nearly two years ago: Owens Corning has a pot-full of lawyers just to handle lung cancer cases related to fiberglass. And that's in addition to the lobbyists they employ to keep from having fiberglass regulated as a carcinogen. No construction code I'm aware of allows exposed fiberglass insulation and they are all specific about requiring covering the insulation to avoid exposure. Itchy skin is the least of the issues. Lung cancer even beyond the rate of incidents from asbestos exposure has been the problem for at least the past thirty years. A good friend's brother makes a tidy living as an attorney for Owens Corning, that's how I know about it.
Be safe working with fiberglass and treat it as you would any potentially dangerous material. At the very least you should wear a respirator or mask when working with glass fiber, keep it way from children, and seal your work to ensure the fiber cannot be transferred into the air.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
As I said, the stuff you have there must have other bad stuff mixed with it. The product we have here is totaly safe and has "NEVER" in this country been shown to be a carcinogen. Asbestos, on the other hand, is a totaly different kettle of fish.
Health effects from exposure to fiberglass can be different depending on the fiber size and type of exposure. Larger fibers have been found to cause skin, eye and upper respiratory tract irritation. There are other possible health effects:
Little information is known about the health effects caused by small fibers. Smaller fibers have the ability to reach the lower part of the lungs increasing the chance of adverse health effects.
- A rash can appear when the fibers become embedded in the outer layer of the skin. No long-term health effects should occur from touching fiberglass.
- Eyes may become red and irritated after exposure to fiberglass.
- Soreness in the nose and throat can result when fibers are inhaled. Asthma and bronchitis can be aggravated by exposure to fiberglass.
- Temporary stomach irritation may occur if fibers are swallowed.
People who work with fiberglass or who have worn-out duct work lined with fiberglass in their homes or workplace may have long-term exposure to fiberglass. There is no evidence that fiberglass causes cancer in people. Animal studies have shown an increased risk of cancer when fiberglass fibers were implanted in the lung tissue of rats, but these studies are controversial because of how the fibers were implanted. Based on these animal studies, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified some fibers used in fiberglass as possible human carcinogens (cancer causing agents).
We have used the stuff here for as long as I can remember and I have recently spoken to a medical advisor reguaring the issue and there have not been any cases here, that he is aware of, relating to glass fibre.
Allan.
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