Insulation, plastic present livestock health hazard

Several calls have indicated that insulation and plastic is spread over an area where cattle are located in Lincoln County. “Fiberglass has no toxic chemical properties," said Randy Saner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator.“Small pieces of fiberglass that cause forage to only be lightly contaminated pose a low risk to cattle and livestock,” said Saner.

"However, any indigestible foreign material eaten by cattle can cause blockage in the digestive system," Saner said. "That means the risk associated with intestinal obstruction would likely be associated with the size of the insulation swallowed or the size of the animal consuming it. Which means a calf, lamb or goat could have problems with a small piece of insulation that would not affect a large cow."

“If an animal eats enough small pieces of insulation in hay or other feed, it could bind together and create a large mass of insulation that could block the digestive tract and cause serious, even fatal, problems. We sometime see these types of blockages if cattle consume twine or net wrap or plastic bag material,” according to Saner.As a result, Saner is generally recommending that producers pick up pieces of insulation and plastic in their fields and discard forage from a field area that is heavily contaminated with plastic and fiberglass.