In the newspaper today !!
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... 52,00.html
Insulation installer's death prompts roof foil warning
Paddy Hintz
October 17, 2009 12:00am
THE death of an insulation installer on Brisbane's southside has prompted electricians to warn homeowners not to enter their roof spaces if they have had aluminium reflective insulation installed recently.
A 25-year-old male installer was killed when a staple used to fix aluminium reflective insulation pierced an electrical cable.
A 19-year-old girl helping with the work on a house at Meadowbrook on Wednesday afternoon was injured when she also received an electric shock and burns to her lower leg.
Master Electricians Australia have warned that several roofs across Queensland could be electrical safety hazards because of wrongly installed reflective insulation.
They have also called for a Government rebate ban on tin foil-style insulation.
The MEA chief executive, Malcolm Richards, said in the past month the association had been flooded with complaints from electricians who had found staples pierced through electrical cabling on sites.
"What we don't want people to do is to go up into their manholes on their aluminium ladders and have a look for themselves," Mr Richards said.
"As soon as they touch the foil they could find out using themselves as a testing device and suffer an electric shock.
"We are urging people to call an electrician to have their installations checked.
"Master Electricians Australia has been warning since May of the safety risk associated with the surge in demand for roof insulation associated with the government rebate."
A spokesman for Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the matter was still being investigated. As it was unclear whether the work was being done under the Home Insulation Program, it would not be appropriate to comment.
He would not confirm whether the company involved was registered under the Government's rebate scheme.
Aluminium Foil Insulation Association president Brian Tikey said he was saddened by the death but the Government should not ban one sector of the insulation industry because of the incident.