Foam Cup Chemicals and Carcinogens

The chemical Styrene which is commonly found in coffee cups and takeout containers has been now added to the list of chemicals which are considered to contain human carcinogens, as suggested by a recently published report. Styrene is one of the chemicals which when inhaled, can prove to be a possibly lethal carcinogen for humans,

Therefore, before you toss out those white, take out plastic containers, you need to keep this fact in mind that the greatest exposure to Styrene comes from the cigarette smoke. In one of the studies, it has been cited that the exposure from the cigarette smoking was ten times those from all the other sources, which also contained indoor and outdoor air, drinking water, soil as well as food combined.

Styrene is a chemical which is widely used all over the world. Products such as insulation, fiberglass, plastic pipes, and automobile parts, drinking cups as well as takeout food containers and carpet backing use it in abundance during the manufacture. Studies on both animals as well as humans in the labs have proved that when the exposure to Styrene is increased above the normally allowed levels, it can cause an extensive damage to the White Blood Cells and the Lymphocytes, increasing the probability of Lymphohematopoietic cancer, such as Leukemia and Lymphoma.

There has also been evidence regarding the exposure to increase the risk of esophageal and pancreatic cancer amongst people who are excessively exposed to the chemical. Many other factors such as the amount and the duration of the exposure towards the cancer as well as a person’s susceptibility can also affect whether the person will develop cancer or not in the longer run.