Insulation turns houses into potential death traps

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Insulation turns houses into potential death traps

Article from:
February 08, 2010 01:20am

MANY homes are ticking time bombs for their occupants who could die putting just one step wrong.
Hundreds of homes that have been fitted with foil insulation under the Rudd government's stimulus program have been turned into potential death traps because installers have laid the insulation over live wires or used metal fasteners, causing it to become electrified.
An audit of almost 1,000 homes in Queensland has found that in about two per cent of cases, foil insulation was installed inappropriately, causing the roof to become "live", The Australian reports.
This means that if home owners enter their roof space and touch the insulation, they could be shocked or electrocuted.
If the foil touches metal frames or pipes, it could cause other parts of houses, including taps, to become electrified.
More than 37,000 homes have received foil insulation under the government's program.
National Electrical and Communications Association chief executive James Tinslay said the audit results were frightening and all remaining homes with foil insulation needed to be inspected urgently by electricians.
Mr Tinslay said the government's decision to ban metal clips was a Band-Aid solution.
The only way to avoid deaths was to mandate inspections by electricians before and after insulation was installed - or failing that, to outlaw foil products.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett has committed to inspecting 10 per cent of those homes but a spokesman said yesterday this could be extended.
"The government will also urgently consider expert advice based on the results of these inspections to determine what further safety measures may be required," the spokesman said.
The inspection program, however, could be stalled because the government has decided to end its current contract and is yet to finalise arrangements with a new provider.
Mr Garrett's spokesman said officials had analysed results from 400 of the 1,000 audits carried out so far, which showed five homes were live.
All of those were due to the use of metal fasteners, which had been banned since November.
The results of the audit show about two per cent of roofs were found to be live.
If this carried over all 37,000 houses insulated, it would mean more than 700 houses were electrified.
Master Electricians Australia chief executive Malcolm Richards urged the government to withdraw the $1,200 rebate.
Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt called on the government to halt the program altogether and hold a judicial inquiry, following the death of a fourth insulation installer in Queensland last week.
Sunny Barnes, 23, whose 16-year-old brother Rueben died while installing foil insulation in Stanwell, south of Rockhampton, last November, said industry regulation was "laughable".
She said the scheme should be halted.
The program to insulate 2.7 million homes has been dogged by allegations of rorting and malpractice and has led to house fires.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...22-953,00.html

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Twice as many 'live' foil insulated ceilings as first thought


Article from:
Stefanie Balogh, Jeremy Pierce and Paddy Hintz
February 10, 2010 11:00pm

THE number of Queensland homes fitted with potentially deadly ceiling insulation is twice as bad as previously revealed.
A safety audit of homes with foil insulation has found 15 out of 700 homes could cause electric shocks.
A day earlier the interim audit findings pointed to five out of 400 homes being "live".
The findings yesterday prompted Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who is under siege, to finally announce that every home fitted with metal insulation would undergo emergency safety checks.
There are 38,000 Queensland homes affected.
The Opposition accused Mr Garrett of bungling the Government's $2.45 billion rebate scheme, which was part of its stimulus package.
The Coalition also questioned when the Minister was first warned about the dangers of foil insulation.
Three Queensland installers have died since the insulation rebate was offered.
Asked what he would say to their families, Mr Garrett said: "Any death, in any instance, under any Government program is a matter of great tragedy for the families involved and a matter which I feel very deeply."
But the mother of a Gold Coast man electrocuted near Cairns last week said she still had not heard from anyone regarding her son's death.
Wendy Sweeney, whose son, Mitchell, was 22 when he died at a property at Millaa Millaa, said she had been kept in the dark over the investigations into his death.
"Nobody has contacted us at all," she said.
Mr Garrett promised homeowners would not be left out of pocket for the safety checks, and the Commonwealth would recoup the costs of dangerously fitted insulation from the installers.
The cost of an electrician carrying out a safety check is at least $200, which means the emergency checks on all 48,000 homes fitted with foil insulation in Australia would cost at least $9.6 million.
The National Electrical and Communications Association wrote to the minister last March to warn there were "inherent dangers" with foil insulation.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott yesterday said: "We have an Environment Minister who has been utterly incompetent in the administration of his portfolio.
"We've got spending blowouts in just about every program that he runs. We've even had four people die as a result of incompetent work done under his program."
Mr Garrett said he acted on concerns after he was contacted and held discussions with industry groups to bring in safety guidelines. Metal fasteners were banned from the program in November.
Master Electricians Australia chief executive Malcolm Richards said electricians were concerned the solution to the insulation crisis could be open to as much abuse as the struggling program.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...31-952,00.html