Expanded Polystyrene Foam and the Ozone Layer

Expanded polystyrene, or EPS, is a closed cell, lightweight foam. By itself, depending upon density, it has a compressive strength between 10 and 60 pounds per square inch. It is an inert plastic product with no further chemical activity making it an ideal foam for most construction applications.

It is used exclusively in ThermaSAVE building system panels.

Unlike polyurethane and formaldehyde foams, which use unstable gases in their manufacture, EPS contains only stabilized air. Its R-value will not decrease with age, as other materials do. EPS can withstand the thermal shock of extreme freeze-thaw cycling without loss of insulation value or structural integrity.

The news media has brought national attention to the scientific communities' well documented ozone loss theory. Over recent years, the uncontrolled release of chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, is reducing or eroding the atmospheric ozone layer of the Earth. This erosion continues at an unacceptable rate.

Although the specific cause of the depletion is unknown, some scientists speculate that this is mainly due to the release of CFCs into the atmosphere. These gases are used throughout the world in refrigeration systems, aerosol cans and some plastic foam. It is the area of plastic foam which seems to cause the most confusion. Some foam uses CFCs as a blowing agent and some do not.

The following insulations do contain CFCs as a blowing agent:

• Isocyanurates
  
• Extruded polystyrenes
  
• Phenalics
  

Expanded polystyrene does not contain CFCs! The blowing agent used to manufacture EPS is pentane, which is totally free of chloro-fluorocarbons and is unrelated to the CFC/ozone controversy. Therefore, it you also share the present concerns of the scientific community regarding ozone depletion and its potential long term ramifications, then we strongly suggest the use of expanded polystyrene as used exclusively in ThermaSAVE Building Panels.