ENVIRONMENT Minister Peter Garrett is under pressure to offer free safety checks for 37,000 houses with potentially deadly foil insulation installed under the government’s stimulus package, after he suspended the program today in the wake of four deaths.
And the Rudd government has ordered a second inquiry into a troubled program which offers cheap loans of up to $10,000 to “green” homes, conceding it is not working properly
On Monday, The Australian revealed an audit of almost 1000 homes in Queensland has found that in about 2 per cent of cases, foil insulation was installed inappropriately, causing the roof to become “live”.
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.
Shocker!