Is Vermiculite Toxic?

Vermiculite is completely safe to use!

The name vermiculite comes from the Latin “vermiculus,” meaning larva or small and worm-like, or “vermiculare,” meaning to breed worms, for its characteristic look when undergoing exfoliation.

Vermiculite – as mined and used today under the strict protocols followed by the industry – is safe to use. Vermiculite has a long history of use in gardening, commercial horticultural uses, Construction.

Vermiculite provides many benefits. These include:

Improves aeration: It loosens the soil so roots can more easily reach down and grow through the soil.

Enhances drainage: Vermiculite soaks up water like a sponge. It holds that water until the soil starts to dry out then releases it. This is good for moisture-loving plants but not so good for plants that like dryer soil.

Adds permanent soil conditioner: Unlike compost, which eventually breaks down into the soil, vermiculite doesn’t break down. Compost does add vital nutrients, but if you need to permanently improve drainage, vermiculite is a great solution.

Slightly raises pH: Vermiculite is pH neutral, around 7.0 or so, but because of some compounds found within it, it can slightly raise pH, a plus for acidic soils.
Makes other minerals available: Vermiculite naturally reacts with soil compounds and makes available other nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and magnesium.

Where could I expect to encounter vermiculite in everyday life?

Vermiculite was widely used as loose-fill insulation especially in attics in domestic residences from the early 1940s onwards. However, over the last two to three decades, its use in domestic housing has declined and has usually been replaced by manmade mineral fibres such as rock wool and glass fibre(fibreglass).

Vermiculite is widely used as a beneficial additive in commercial greenhouse potting soils and in the cultivation of seedlings. It is found in much good quality packaged consumer “composts” and potting mixes available from garden centres and horticultural supply outlets.

Vermiculite is often used in passive fire protection products in high-rise construction projects to increase the fire safety of the building by preventing the premature collapse of a building, which has caught on fire; allowing for a safe evacuation and saving lives.

Industrially, vermiculite is used to insulate high-temperature kilns and furnaces and to make waste combustion plants more efficient and environmentally sound which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In the automotive sector, vermiculite has been used to safely replace hazardous asbestos in brake linings in cars and commercial vehicles.

Pressed and moulded vermiculite boards are used in household wood-burning stoves to improve combustion efficiency helping to reduce unwanted emissions.

Vermiculite is also used as a safe packaging material in the hazardous goods shipping business, especially in the airfreight sector.

Our Vermiculite is Non-Toxic, natural & environmentally safe. Eco Vermiculite can offer you the correct product for every insulating, construction or horticultural application.

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