CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer. Most people know it under the name Styrofoam, which is actually the trade name of a polystyrene foam product used for housing insulation Delebecq, E. (2013). Polystyrene is a light-weight material, about 95% air, with very good insulation properties and is used in all types of products from cups that keep your beverages hot or cold to packaging material that keep your computers safe during shipping.

The biggest environmental health concern associated with polystyrene is the danger associated with Styrene, the basic building block of polystyrene. Styrene is used extensively in the manufacture of foam, plastics, rubber, and resins. About 90,000 workers, including those who make boats, tubs and showers, are potentially exposed to styrene, Delebecq, E. (2013).

According to Helou, M. (2011). Acute health effects are generally irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal effects. Chronic exposure affects the central nervous system showing symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, and weakness, and can cause minor effects on kidney function and blood. Styrene is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the EPA and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A voluntary compliance program has been adopted by industries using styrene. The US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration unsuccessfully (a federal court overturned the ruling in 1992) tried to limit the amount of worker exposure to styrene to 50 parts per million (ppm). According to the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC), they still encourage their member companies to comply with the 50 ppm exposure limit. This program would reduce styrene exposures to a 50 ppm TWA with a 100 ppm (15 minute) ceiling.-OSHA (US Dept of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration)

A 1986 EPA report on solid waste named the polystyrene manufacturing process as the 5th largest creator of hazardous waste, Helou, M.;  (2011). The National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research identified 57 chemical byproducts released during the combustion of polystyrene foam. The process of making foam pollutes the air and creates large amounts of liquid and solid waste. Toxic chemicals leach out of these products into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave), Javni, I.; (2013). These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems. These products are made with petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource.

The use of hydrocarbons in polystyrene foam manufacture releases the hydrocarbons into the air at ground level; there, combined with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight, they form tropospheric ozone — a serious air pollutant at ground level, Javni, I.; (2013). According to the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) more than 100 million Americans currently live in areas that fail to meet air quality standards for ozone. California, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Chicago-Milwaukee area, and the Northeastern U.S. all have “serious ozone air quality problems,” according to EPA. Ozone is definitely a dangerous pollutant. The EPA says: “Healthy individuals who are exercising while ozone levels are at or only slightly above the standard can experience reduced functioning of the lungs, leading to chest pain, coughing, wheezing, and pulmonary congestion. In animal studies, long-term exposure to high levels of ozone has produced permanent structural damage to animal lungs while both short and long term exposure has been found to decrease the animal’s capability to fight infection.” In other words, prolonged exposure to atmospheric ozone above legal limits might be expected to damage the immune system. Hong, D. P. (2013)

By volume, the amount of space used up in landfills by all foams is between 25 and 30 percent. -“Polystyrene Fact Sheet,” Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education, Los Angeles, California. Polystyrene foam is often dumped into the environment as litter. This material is notorious for breaking up into pieces that choke animals and clog their digestive systems. Many cities and counties have outlawed polystyrene foam (i.e. Taiwan, Portland, OR, and Orange County, CA), Petrovic, Z. S (2013).

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this project is to produce foam with elastic support.

The objectives are:

To carry out necessary test on the foam human produced.

It is expected that if this research is a success expanding the current foam manufacturing sector by finding easier ways of establishing such industry there by creating more jobs and reducing the level of unemployment and increase the nation Gross Domestic Product.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study on the production of foam using elastic support. The project will be guided by both objectives. The study will use analysis of literature review on survey and experimental research conducted on the process involve in the production of foam using elastic support.  The literature will provide important information on the possibility process involve in the production of foam. The study will use a survey research methodology to obtain data’s for analysis. Data obtained will be tabulated and presented in graphs using charts, line and bar graphs. The study will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data.

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