Effect of using Styrofoam!
Despite its high utility, the harmful effects of Styrofoam in our health and the environment have brought Styrofoam products under study.
Despite its high utility, the harmful effects of Styrofoam in our health and the environment have brought Styrofoam products under study.
Non-biodegradable trash that is unnecessary to be landfilled will only accumulate. These objects are the source of litter and pollution. The most wide-reaching effect of non-biodegradable trash is the Pacific Garbage Patch which is an area of the Pacific Ocean. It is heavily polluted with plastics and other waste. The Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of the continental United States, stretching almost from California to Japan.
For overall health effects, Styrene, which is the basic structural unit of Styrofoam, is known to cause gastrointestinal (pertaining to the stomach and the intestines) complications and irritation of the skin, eyes and the upper respiratory area. Long exposure to Styrofoam affects the central nervous system. Workers who works in industries that make Styrofoam-based products reported to suffered from headaches, fatigue and depression. Those are symptoms of a damage nervous system. Styrofoam also has minor effects on the functioning of the kidneys and the vascular system.
In terms of reproductive health effects, woman who’s working in industries that use Styrofoam, have been observed to experience spontaneous high rate of abortions. However, due to lack of proper data, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not draw any conclusive correlation between these incidents and exposure to Styrofoam.
Styrofoam also can affect cancer. International Agency for Research on Cancer in France has classified styrene as a possible carcinogen (any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer) for humans. Studies and observations based on individuals working in plants using styrene indicate that these individuals are at a higher risk of suffering from leukemia and lymphoma (when a lymphocyte which is a type of white blood cell that is a part of the lymph system becomes cancerous, it may grow and multiply to form a lymphoma) than people employed elsewhere. However, the EPA does not confirm carcinogenic effects of styrene due to the presence of other chemical contaminants in the environments of the subjects studied.
With the usage of Styrofoam, it can create environmental pollution. Hydrocarbons that are released during the manufacture of Styrofoam combine with nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere and form tropospheric ozone (the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere) close to earth's surface which will creates environment pollution. Exposure to ozone causes chest pain, coughing, wheezing and other respiratory problems. As per EPA, California, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Chicago-Milwaukee area, and the northeastern US have poor air quality due to high amounts of hydrocarbons released from plants producing Styrofoam goods.
If you use Styrofoam to put your meal, food contamination will happen. Styrene enters the human body through food that were kept in Styrofoam cups and plates. Higher fat content and reheating food in Styrofoam containers are two factors that have been found to increase the speed of contamination of food with styrene.
Watch Out of the percentage..
Styrofoam use pentane gas as the blowing agent. During the material production process call “Polymerization” the polystyrene resin particle soaks with the blowing agent. Styrofoam production process begins in the pre-expansion process where the Styrofoam bead will expand by the heat of steam usually 50 times in volume. Next step is molding process where expanded foam bead will be heated again with steam then they expand further until they fuse together, forming as foam products.
Until the late 1970’s CFCs, or Chlorofluorocarbons, were used as the blowing agents for Styrofoam production. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had the opposite view of CFC use in Styrofoam production, and had a data chart to back up their statements. insulation and foam make up 30% of the CFC use.
There are 23% of auto air conditioners, 18% of air conditioner and refrigerators, 30% of insulations and foam, 22% of industrial cleaning agents, and 5% of other stuff that are used to produce Styrofoam.
This picture shows how our Ozone Layer changed over only 10 years. The purple is an Ozone level of less than 2%. The Ozone Layer is the only protective barrier between us and harmful radiation from the Sun and outer space. This global threat is what lead to the Montreal Protocol
There are about 35 countries in the world had joint for the Montreal Protocol to reduce the world’s CFC production levels by 50% by 1998. This map shows the countries that signed in yellow.
Hydrochloroflorocarbons are thought to be less harmful than regular old fashioned CFCs. In fact, HCFCs are supposed to be 90% less harmful than CFCs. For Styrofoam production, generally HCFC-22 is combined with Ethylene to create Ethylene Oxide which is 22% Ethylene. Many people have the doubt that HCFCs are much better for the environment.
Chemicals in Styrofoam
Among the chemicals components that are used to make Styrofoam are Benzene, Styrene, Ethylene, and Blowing Agents such as CFCs and HCFCs.
Benzene is extract from coal, but also found in gasoline. The earth distributed around the mine from deep inside is nearly dead that it cannot support plant life. This leads to erosion of the land even after the mine has been closed for use. Working in the coal mines has always been known as a very hazardous job.
Benzene is a clear, colorless liquid with a noted pleasant odor. Another common name for benzene is Coal Tar. There are about 75% of all extracted Benzene is used in Polystyrene production. It is used to transform Styrene into Polystyrene. Cigarettes smoke is also contain benzene. It is one of the 4,000 chemicals present.
Styrene Monomer is a clear, oily liquid with a minor odor. Styrene for manufacturing is extracted from petroleum. Styrene is naturally present in most foods, such as: strawberries, beef, coffee, peanuts, beans, wheat and cinnamon.
Ethylene is a colorless gas that becomes a liquid at very low temperatures. It is present in almost every plant and encourages plant growth. Ethylene has been used as one of the two new blowing agents in the production of Styrofoam.
Polystyrene is basically a hard, brittle plastic and it doesn’t become Styrofoam until it gets injected with a “blowing agent” to make it 30 times lighter than its original weight. To make Styrofoam, certain gases are injected into the plastic, blowing tiny holes that become gas and air filled pockets once the plastic cools.What is Polystyrene?
Styrofoam is a trademark of the Dow Company, but the material itself is called polystyrene. Like so many other plastics, it's all around us where it is very commonly used in packing material in food trays and a wide variety of other products, even explosives such as napalm and hydrogen bombs
Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer. Most people know it under the name Styrofoam, which is actually the trade name of a polystyrene foam product used for housing insulation. Polystyrene is a light-weight material, about 95% air, with very good filling properties and is used in all types of products from cups that keep your beverages hot or cold to packaging material that keep your computers safe during shipping.
Styrofoam containers made from polystyrene foam and many plastics are non-biodegradable. Non-biodegradable trash is a growing concern to environmentalists as well as anyone wanting to embrace a more eco-friendly lifestyle. It's important to understand what non-biodegradable trash is. Non-biodegradable trash is any unnecessary item that cannot be broken down by living organisms. Non-biodegradable trash accumulates in the environment because it cannot return to its origins. There are many different types of non-biodegradable trash including cans, glass and disc. Styrofoam containers made from polystyrene foam and many plastics are non-biodegradable.
Styrofoam can be uses in various ways such as food and beverages containers, packaging products, building insulation materials and craft project materials. The reasons for its popularity is that it has excellent insulating properties that keep hot products hot and cold products cold much longer than disposable paper cups and boxes.
