Kinship Café has renounced Styrofoam and will henceforth use only biodegradable containers for takeout food. As long ago as 1972 researchers found toxic styrene residues inside a majority of Americans who were tested. By 1986, styrene residue was to be found in 100% of human fat tissue. (http://www.newfrontier.com/asheville/earth-talk4.htm) Even babies who don’t drink coffee out of Styrofoam had residue in their fat. Even though Styrofoam is nonbiodegradable, while you are drinking your cup of coffee from a foam cup, nasty chemicals are migrating into your body. Scientists weighed cups after use, and sure enough cups had lost weight while being used. It’s distressing that styrofoam contaminants can act as neurotoxins in the body and can cause disturbing effects on health. Plus Styrofoam is a petroleum product and its production feeds climate warming. So let’s get on board with this initiative, better late than never.
Comment by Priscilla Briones for the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC), Arlington, Virginia. SIRC (www.styrene.org): “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.”
I did read that the monomer or blowing agent used in filling styrene with air was subsequently made inert too, so perhaps we’re all safe after all.