Environmental Factors
Sheep are no longer farmed primarily for their wool, however they need to be clipped annually to protect the health of the animal. The wool used to manufacture insulation is the wool discarded as waste by other industries due to its colour or grade. As a controlled waste product it cannot be disposed of until it is cleaned. Hence the energy foot print of washing the wool is attributed to the livestock industry under PAS2050. There are some primary environmental factors that need to be considered when looking for a source of wool, such as the way the flock is treated for pesticides, the chemicals used in the treatment of the wool after shearing, and the distance from the source to its final destination. Sheep are often treated with insecticide and fungicide in a process called dipping. This leaves a residue on the fleece and can result in groundwater contamination if used improperly. These residues are often washed off once the fleece is sheared, but this results in three byproducts, grease, liquor, and sludge. The first two can be safely disposed of, but the latter contains remnants of the pesticides which cause a concern for disposal. Sheepswool insulation is often treated with borax to enhance its fire retardant and pest repellent qualities. The level of Borax is relatively low only 4% dry weight although the scouring baths have a higher load of 8–9%. Borax mining employs one of the cleanest mining techniques available but borax is increasingly coming into focus as a suspected reproductive toxin having been considered relatively safe for many years; animal ingestion studies in several species, at high doses, indicate that borates cause reproductive and developmental effects. The most significant exposure route for humans is inhalation which raises questions over whether dust from wool insulation could lead to a significant exposure to humans; probably unlikely for anyone except professional installers. There are some company's that use DE (Diatomaceous Earth) as pesticide. DE is believed to be harmless and is used in feed and animals to stave of peristalses. DE has the drawback of having to be applied in two steps to be effective and the wool having to be installed loose .
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