Calcium silicate bonded with sodium silicate. Although it is popularly considered an asbestos substitute, early uses of calcium silicate for insulation still made use of asbestos fibers. It is used in passive fire protection and fireproofing as calcium silicate brick or in roof tiles. It is one of the most successful materials in fireproofing in Europe because of regulations and fire safety guidelines for commercial and residential building codes (see Calcium Silicate use in Europe). Where North Americans use spray fireproofing plasters, Europeans are more likely to use cladding made of calcium silicate. High-performance calcium-silicate boards retain their excellent dimensional stability even
Building insulation materials residential insulating material, and is usually applied as batts of insulation, pressed between studs. Health and safety issues include potential cancer risk from exposure to glass fibers, formaldehyde off-gassing from the backing/resin, use of petrochemicals in the resin, and the environmental health aspects of the production process. Green building practices shun Fiberglass insulation. The World Health Organization has declared fiber glass insulation as "potentially" carcinogenic (WHO, 1998). In October 2001, an international expert review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) re-evaluated the 1988 IARC assessment of glass fibers and removed glass wools from its list of possible