Degrading the insulation doesn't probably make it caustic...but it probably does make it more porous, leading to moisture getting in and kicking off the corrosion process.
Some insulation might be PVC-based and as such, heating it might release Hydrogen Chloride gas...which when added to water becomes Hydrochloric acid.
__________________
Sailingdog
Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Serenity (slightly edited)
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