Every year more and more different construction and finishing materials appear on the market. Some of them become popular and exist for quite a long time, neighboring with novelties, and the fashion for others is so fleeting that it is not possible to work directly with them all. Currently in the construction sector is a real "boom warming": due to the constant increase in the cost of energy carriers, residents of private homes began to think about saving. The best solution is to reduce heat loss at home during the cold season. This can be achieved in several ways, one of which involves the use of a styrofoam, also known as styrofoam. This material, perhaps, can be called optimal for the preservation of heat. Moreover, the cost of expanded polystyrene is much lower than that of alternative options (mineral wool, etc.). On the other hand, information on the potential danger of this material for human health appears increasingly in the network and in printed publications. Now the damage to expanded polystyrene is not discussed only by the lazy one. What is really happening?
Eternal Question
Before we consider this issue, let us allow ourselves a slight digression. Everyone should understand that in order to maintain a modern standard of living, a compromise must be made. Electronic devices surround us everywhere, generating magnetic fields and directing current to the human body; Water in the centralized system is periodically chlorinated; Laminate in the room and chipboard in the furniture allot formaldehyde; Even plastic windows are considered by many to be dangerous, since polymers when heated (direct sun) are also not very useful. The safest building materials are saman and wood from ecologically clean areas, but civilization has abandoned them, as from unpromising. Thus, the damage to expanded polystyrene does exist. The question is, is it great, and will it be better to coat the house with clay and build a thatched roof?
Damage to expanded polystyrene: truth or fiction
For sure, all in my childhood I tried to set foam plastic. It burns very intensely, and the color of the fire is blue, and the smoke is black. This indicates that not only carbon dioxide and water vapor are released during oxidation. It is believed that the composition of the combustion products includes gas phosgene, which causes a malfunction in the work of respiratory organs. There really is a danger. At the same time, such a damage to expanded polystyrene can be considered somewhat exaggerated, as now a non-flammable modification (self-extinguishing) is produced. Modern foam does not support combustion.
It is also known that carcinogenic styrene is gradually released from the material. It would seem - the damage is obvious, but it's not so simple. Open foam is relatively quickly destroyed, so it is always hidden under the facing materials. Exception - the plates inside the room, but from a similar finish in modern construction has almost been abandoned. In addition, there is expanded polystyrene extruded, in which the structure is changed, and the potential harm is less.
Thus, when using foam, as well as any other modern material, you must observe certain security measures, and then harm it for a person will be minimal.