In this post, we'll discuss a few risks to the environment and to our health.
One of the components that is all around us is polystyrene. Only polyethylene is perhaps more prevalent in your daily life than the cheap, rigid plastic known as polystyrene.
Did you know that the outside of your computer, as well as the housings of gadgets like hair dryers, TVs, and kitchen appliances, are likely constructed of polystyrene? Polystyrene is the material used to make various toys, including model vehicles and aeroplanes. Along with a lot of the moulded interior automobile elements, such the radio knobs, there is also foam insulation and packing. Both the hard plastic and the soft foamy food containers made of polystyrene are also used for drinking cups and other consumables. Styrofoam™ is the name of a well-known polystyrene foam brand.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ADD HOT FOOD OR DRINKS TO POLYSTYRENE?
Styrene and Benzene, potential human carcinogens, and neurotoxins, are harmful chemicals found in polystyrene. Some poisons are absorbed into our bloodstream and tissues as a result of the partial breakdown of the polystyrene that hot meals and liquids actually initiate. When in touch with heated food or drink, alcohol, oils, or acidic foods, polystyrene food containers leak the toxin styrene, contaminating humans and endangering their health. Avoid consuming wine, fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, coffee with dairy cream, tea with lemon, and other liquids from Styrofoam cups. The Styrene monomer will rapidly disintegrate in red wine. Eat nothing greasy from a Styrofoam container.
The breakdown of foods containing vitamin A (beta-carotene) is particularly fascinating. Vitamin A will break down in packaged goods when heat is added (such as from microwaves) and generate m-xylene, toluene, and 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene. Polystyrene will be violently dissolved by toluene. Because of this, vitamin A-containing items cannot be contained in or microwaved in polystyrene.
Food should not be microwaved in plastic, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency: "Remove food from plastic wrap, freezer cartons and/or Styrofoam trays before defrosting and heating. They may leak dangerous substances from the container or plastic wrap onto the food since they are not heat stable. Website of the Food Inspection Agency. Due to its harmful effects on both people and the environment, polystyrene food packaging is prohibited in over 100 US cities as well as some European and Asian cities. If the food storage containers you use don't say "Microwave-safe," they most likely aren't.
IS POLYSTYRENE PRODUCTS ARE SAFE?
Due of the wide use of polystyrene products, many people believe that they are safe and that a regulatory body like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would not permit the marketing of a product that poses a risk to public health. However, styrene residues were found in every single sample of human fat tissue collected in the US in 1982, according to the EPA's National Human Adipose Tissue Survey for 1986. All polystyrene foam packaging contains styrene, which is used to manufacture polystyrene plastic. A However, styrene migration is nothing new. In 1972 and again in 1976, it was first noted. Styrene was discovered in human fatty tissue with a frequency of 100% in a 1988 study by the Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education in concentrations between 8 and 350 nanograms per gramme (ng/g). One-third of the concentrations known to elicit neurotoxic effects is at 350 ng/g. It was discovered that drinking glasses made of Styrofoam leak Styrofoam into the beverages they hold. The cups seem to lose weight when they are being used.
HEALTH EFFECTS
There are significant concerns about the public health and safety of styrene accumulation in human tissue given that it can harm people in a number of ways. Styrene has been linked to cancer in animals, but its link to cancer in people has not yet been shown. As a neurotoxic, styrene mostly manifests its toxicity to humans by targeting the central and peripheral nervous systems. Acute or long-term functional impairment of the neurological system is linked to the buildup of these highly lipid-soluble (fat-soluble) substances in the lipid-rich tissues of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
- Be aware about the harmful consequences of consuming polystyrene goods and inform others.
- Substitute biodegradable or reusable cups for foam ones at the office. Choose non-polystyrene-wrapped or unwrapped foods when you go grocery shopping (such as meat, eggs, and vegetables).
- Request that local fast-food restaurants and food suppliers use packaging for their products that is not made of Styrofoam. There are several substitutes on the market right now manufactured from resources like post-consumer recycled paper, maize plastics, or sugar cane fibre.
