WAMU: Grade School Students Reject Styrofoam Lunch Trays
March 24, 2010 - By Elliott Francis
..."Styrofoam is made from styrene which is a neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen. That means its bad for your brain and we think it causes cancer," says Brooks.
School superintendent Jerry Weast disagrees with that. In a memo issued back in 2009, Weast wrote, the Styrofoam is safe and affordable...
Styrofoam is a trade name for polystyrene insulation that often is used incorrectly to describe foodservice products (plates, cups, meat trays) made from polystyrene foam. Polystyrene containers for food have been used safely for more than 50 years, having been tested and deemed safe by government agencies. Any minuscule amount of styrene that may migrate out of polystyrene containers into food is far too small to be of any health concern. Moreover, styrene occurs naturally in many foodstuffs, including cinnamon, beef, coffee and strawberries.
ReplyDeleteFurther, in 2006 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program determined styrene to be of "negligible concern".
Also, no authoritative or regulatory body anywhere in the world classifies styrene to be a known cause of human cancer. Moreover, a study conducted by a "blue ribbon" panel of epidemiologists and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (November 2009) reports: "The evidence of human carcinogenicity of styrene is inconsistent and weak. On the basis of the available evidence, one cannot conclude that there is a causal relationship between styrene and any type of human cancer."
Priscilla Briones for the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC), Arlington, Virginia. SIRC (www.styrene.org) is a trade association that represents interests of the North American styrene industry with its mission being the collection, development, analysis and communication of pertinent information on styrene.
In Montgomery County trash is sent to the incinerator. Please cite reference where it is safe to burn Styrofoam or Polystyrene. Thanks.
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