Climate-friendly foam building insulation may do more harm than good
2021-02-23
(Press-News.org) The use of the polymeric flame retardant PolyFR in "eco-friendly" foam plastic building insulation may be harmful to human health and the environment, according to a new commentary in Environmental Science & Technology. The authors' analysis identifies several points during the lifecycle of foam insulation that may expose workers, communities, and ecosystems to PolyFR and its potentially toxic breakdown products.
With the climate crisis fueling demand for energy-efficient insulation, the production of PolyFR is increasing rapidly. That's because this flame retardant is added to all foam plastic building insulation in North America to comply with flammability codes, replacing the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane that has been globally phased out due to its toxicity and persistence. PolyFR is commonly assumed to be safe. However, the authors question that assumption.
The presumed safety of PolyFR hinges on the claim that as a large molecule called a polymer, it has few opportunities for release from foam insulation. But the authors' analysis shows that in fact, PolyFR in building insulation has significant opportunities for release into the environment during manufacturing, installation, and disposal of foam insulation. Once released, the PolyFR may break down into harmful chemicals that can end up in people and ecosystems.
"Since so much PolyFR is being used and so little is known about its release into the environment, we need to have realistic assessments of the potential for PolyFR across its life cycle to harm human and environmental health," said Miriam Diamond, Professor at University of Toronto and corresponding author of the study.
PolyFR is a polymer made from butadiene and styrene, which are both carcinogens. Bromine is added making it a brominated flame retardant--such flame retardants studied in the past were found to be toxic and many have been phased out of use.
A greater understanding of the potential for health harm associated with the increasing production of PolyFR, as well as its eventual breakdown and disposal, is needed to protect workers, fenceline communities near waste disposal sites, and others exposed throughout this flame retardant's lifecycle.
Importantly, alternative insulation materials already exist which do not require the use of potentially hazardous flame retardants. Inherently flame-resistant mineral fibers, such as glass wool or stone wool, can be used instead. Also, the fire safety benefit of adding flame retardants should be established before such chemicals are used.
"Making buildings more energy-efficient is a key part of tackling the climate crisis," said co-author Arlene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute. "But we need to be careful not to create new health and environmental problems along the way. A 'green building' with potentially hazardous insulation isn't a green building at all."
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-02-23
HSE University researchers have become the first in the world to discover genetic predisposition to severe COVID-19. The results of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
T-cell immunity is one of the key mechanisms used by the human body to fight virus infections. The staging ground for cell immunity development is the presentation of virus peptides on the surface of infected cells. This is followed by activation of T lymphocytes, which start to kill the infected cells.
The ability to successfully present virus peptides is largely determined by genetics. In human cells, human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) molecules are responsible for this presentation. The set of six such molecules is unique in every ...
2021-02-23
Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software.
The study "Smartphone Use While Driving: An Investigation of Young Novice Driver (YND) Behaviour," also found that speaking on a hand-held phone is strongly correlated with high-risk driving behaviours such as overtaking on the inside of the car ahead, speeding, driving without a valid licence and driving while intoxicated.
Lero researchers, surveyed 700 German Young Novice Drivers ...
2021-02-23
COVID-19 infection in pregnancy is not associated with stillbirth or early neonatal death, according to a new study.
However the research, from over 4000 pregnant women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, also found women who had a positive test were more likely to have a premature birth.
The research, led by scientists from Imperial College London and published in the journal Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, used data from the UK and the USA.
The study team looked at data from 4004 pregnant women who had suspected or confirmed COVID-19. Of these women, ...
2021-02-23
ITHACA, N.Y. - Critics claim environmental regulations hurt productivity and profits, but the reality is more nuanced, according to an analysis of environmental policies in China by a pair of Cornell economists.
The analysis found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, market-based or incentive-based policies may actually benefit regulated firms in the traditional and "green" energy sectors, by spurring innovation and improvements in production processes. Policies that mandate environmental standards and technologies, on the other hand, may broadly harm output and profits.
"The conventional wisdom is not entirely ...
2021-02-22
As electronic devices saturate all corners of public and personal life, engineers are scrambling to find lightweight, mechanically stable, flexible, and easily manufactured materials that can shield humans from excessive electromagnetic radiation as well as prevent electronic devices from interfering with each other.
In a breakthrough report published in Advanced Materials--the top journal in the field-- engineers at the University of California, Riverside describe a flexible film using a quasi-one-dimensional nanomaterial filler that combines excellent electromagnetic shielding with ease of manufacture.
"These novel films are promising for high-frequency communication technologies, which require electromagnetic ...
2021-02-22
A federally approved heart medication shows significant effectiveness in interfering with SARS-CoV-2 entry into the human cell host, according to a new study by a research team from Texas A&M University and The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).
The medication bepridil, which goes by the trade name Vascor, is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat angina, a heart condition.
The team's leaders are College of Science professor Wenshe Ray Liu, professor and holder of the Gradipore Chair in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M, and Chien-Te Kent Tseng, professor ...
2021-02-22
Climate change impacts are broad and far reaching. A new study by University of Oklahoma researchers from the Institute for Environmental Genomics explores the impacts of climate warming on microbial network complexity and stability, providing critical insights to ecosystem management and for projecting ecological consequences of future climate warming.
"Global climate change is one of the most profound anthropogenic disturbances to our planet," said Jizhong Zhou, IEG's director, a George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct professor in the Gallogly College of Engineering. "Climate warming can alter soil microbial community diversity, structure and activities, but it remains uncertain whether and how it impacts network complexity and its relationships ...
2021-02-22
COLUMBUS, Ohio - If depression is making it more difficult for some unemployed people to land a job, one type of therapy may help, research suggests.
In a new study, 41% of unemployed or underemployed people undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) found a new job or went from part- to full-time work by the end of the 16-week treatment for depression.
Those who had a job but found it difficult to focus on and accomplish work tasks because of depression said the treatment helped to significantly reduce these problems.
"For the most part, researchers have focused on showing ...
2021-02-22
Just when you thought you could head indoors to be safe from the air pollution that plagues the Salt Lake Valley, new research shows that elevated air pollution events, like horror movie villains, claw their way into indoor spaces. The research, conducted in conjunction with the Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management, is published in Science of the Total Environment.
In a long-term study in a Salt Lake-area building, researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees, ...
2021-02-22
Researchers Learn that Pregnant Women Pass Along Protective COVID Antibodies to their Babies
Antibodies that guard against COVID-19 can transfer from mothers to babies while in the womb, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian researchers published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
This discovery, published Jan. 22, adds to growing evidence that suggests that pregnant women who generate protective antibodies after contracting the coronavirus often convey some of that natural immunity to their fetuses. The findings also lend support to the idea that vaccinating mothers-to-be may also have benefits for their newborns.
"Since we can now say that the antibodies pregnant women make against COVID-19 ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Climate-friendly foam building insulation may do more harm than good
