Disclaimer: I am no legal expert. I am simply trying to provide common-sense advice. Refer to a lawyer if you're unsure about the legality of any of the advice I am providing.
I am advising you to keep your own health and safety in mind above all else:
- Refuse unsafe work
- Inform your boss of his duties and responsibilities to you as an employee
- Possibly report him to the authorities if appropriate (refusing to provide equipment, etc.)
- Seek new employment if this workplace is unsafe, and not willing to provide equipment or training
In most places the safety equipment you require should already be on hand, and you should be required by law to use it when conducting certain operations (such as masks/goggles/gloves for painting, for example). In other words, the fact that your employer is not providing you with the information that you require this equipment and/or doesn't already have it all on hand for you to use raises big red flags to me.
Keep in mind that equipment is useless if you're not instructed on how to use it!
You should, at this point, educate yourself as to the law, and create a comprehensive list of the equipment/training that your boss has to provide to you, and every other employee there.
Request it ASAP, and present him with this list (by e-mail is best, so that you create a paper trail), and be prepared to produce the links to the website of whichever agency lists the basic health and safety regulations governing your job site (which, judging by the comments, seems to be OSHA). For all I know the OSHA website might have a bunch of instructional safety videos that you can all watch and that's that. However, your boss might have to hire a company to come in and conduct training if he is unaware of the safety techniques, and can't find free sources for this information.
You should be able to refuse unsafe work (such as working with fiberglass without an appropriate mask) until this equipment/training is provided.
At the end of the day, if he doesn't provide you with what you need, and you don't want to deal with the hassle of reporting him, or otherwise trying to change his ways, then you should simply seek new employment immediately. If you can't afford to be without a job until you secure new employment get some gear of your own to use in the interim.