Disposable e-cigarette disposed of in the masonry

Hello everyone,

my wife and I are currently building a single-family house, which is still in the shell construction phase (masonry). During the last visit to the construction site, I saw something in one of the insulation chambers of the bricks that at first glance looked like a pen.

After we pulled out the supposed pen from the insulation chamber of the exterior wall brick, we found out that apparently one of the masons wanted to dispose of his (presumably empty) disposable e-cigarette (vape) in the brick.

The brick has a fine, wool-like filling made of "pure softwood fibers". Since construction has already been going on for several weeks, my wife and I "fear" that the found e-cigarette might be just one of several.

Do these pose a fire hazard or any other dangers? Scenarios my wife and I imagine include a battery leaking/bursting after several years which, in connection with the softwood fibers, could quickly become a fire hazard... or also by accidentally drilling into it when fixtures are installed in the masonry after years.

How should this issue be addressed with the construction company? Is this just a minor issue and we are worrying unnecessarily, or is the concern justified?

Thank you very much and best regards

In our chambers there were slices of cucumbers, [Papiertüte vom Bäcker], chocolate bar wrappers, and countless cigarette butts. If I may officially state this here: That is antisocial!!!

If I had caught someone red-handed, I would have kicked them off the construction site.

Definitely contact the contractor and ask them to stop this immediately. It unfortunately didn’t work for me, which is why I made my rounds on the construction site every evening. He will receive the bill along with the associated photos when settling the final invoice.

How should this issue be brought to the construction company? Is it just a minor detail and we are worrying in the wrong place, or is the concern justified? I don't understand this thread here. Of course you go to the company and tell them what happened. What are you afraid of? The best outcome is that the contractor sees you are keeping an eye on the matter.

"How should this issue be brought to the construction company? Is it just a minor thing and we are worrying in the wrong place or is the concern justified?"

I don't understand this thread here. Of course you go to the company and tell them what happened. What are you afraid of? The best consequence is that the contractor sees that you are keeping an eye on the matter.

And the bad consequence could be that the workers get scolded and then do even more crap that nobody notices right away.

Exactly that is what we are also "afraid" of... hence the forum post asking whether the addressed issue is really more serious in nature or rather a minor matter.

Thanks in advance for all the responses so far!

So cucumber slices and paper bags would be fine with me. When it comes to hazardous waste or liquid residues from construction chemicals, that's where I draw the line.