Polystyrene Cups, Your Healt's Worst Enemy

Nasif Masad

       Usually we use cups made of polystyrene (styrofoam drinking cups) and soft drink bottles made of polyester.

      
      Styrene is added in the production of most of these disposable drinking cups and bottles to give them flexibility. When styrene is exponed to heat or used for acid liquids such as vinegar or limon, for long time, styrene would be dissolved and accumulated in the human body. It has hazardous effect on the nervous system, and may cause blood pressure, depression, sleeping disorders, Parkinson and other diseases, and in some cases some kind of cancer.

        While researchers are working to find whether these materials are responsible for Genotoxicity and Carcinogenicity or haven’t, we continue using them in most of our birthday parties, in camping and in our daily life.In fact styrofoam plates, and containers are used to serve hot food, roast chicken, hamburgers In the supermarket and working place.

           The most hazardous use would be drinking hot tea or acid juice, the effect would doble by drinking hot tea with lemon.

           Using the disposable bottle as hot water bottle in the winter is also hazardous if this water is used after a night long en the bottle. Farthermore these bottles usually end in a landfill to be burnt or burried. Researchers suggest that these polystyrene cups are causing the death of millions of birds and sea animals every year.