Rock wool is an artificial inorganic fiber made of selected basalt or diabase with a certain proportion of slag, which is melted at high temperature and further processed into rock wool board, rock wool tube, rock wool felt and other products.
The hazards of asbestos substitutes to human health are:
Respiratory hazards:
Workers exposed to glass wool, rock wool and mineral wool may have X-ray chest film changes, that is, pneumoconiosis changes. FVC (forced expiratory volume) of lung function is lower than normal, but it is far less serious than asbestos workers. Pathological examination of lung biopsy of workers exposed to glass fiber showed that there were glass fiber dust cell foci, mild gliosis, lung cancer and lung abscess in lung tissue. When exposed to low concentration (2.5 root/ml), the lung function of workers did not change much even after 20 years of exposure. Workers exposed to high concentration of glass fiber dust have symptoms of upper respiratory tract irritation and asthma attack. 0.5 micron and 0.7 micron thick glass fibers can be detected from the lung lavage fluid of patients.
In addition, workers exposed to bleached soil fiber, green slope stone and sepiolite showed atypical shadows on chest films, and lung biopsy showed bronchiolitis, reticular fiber hyperplasia, fibrous foci and other changes.
Skin hazards:
Contact dermatitis often occurs in glass fiber workers, but some workers can gradually tolerate it, which is called "hardening". The degree of damage to skin varies according to fiber diameter and surface roughness. At present, it is recognized that the fiber diameter exceeds 5μm, which has obvious stimulating effect. A few workers exposed to glass fibers and rock wool have skin allergies, but it has not been proved that these fibers are allergens themselves.
Harm to eyes and mucous membrane:
Workers exposed to glass fiber can suffer from conjunctivitis and keratitis, and in severe cases, corneal opacity and local abscess can be seen. Fibers with a diameter of less than 3μm can be washed out from patients' eyes. Pathological examination of the patient's eyeball showed that corneal epithelial cells proliferated and mucin content in conjunctival fluid increased, suggesting mechanical stimulation. Animal experiments have confirmed similar pathological changes.
Experiments show that when the fiber size and length are similar, asbestos substitutes can also produce toxicity and carcinogenicity similar to asbestos.
Asbestos replacing dust has certain biological harm to people and animals. Although its biological activity and pathological function are not as good as that of asbestos, as a large number of substitutes for asbestos, its harm can not be ignored.