Sri Vijaya Puram, Oct. 30: Renowned scientist Dr. Ajai Kumar Sonkar said that styrene is a hydrocarbon or volatile organic compound found in petroleum-based products.
Petroleum-based plastics are a well-known source of harmful styrene. As the temperature increases, the expansion and evaporation of styrene increases, causing them to dissolve in air, soil and water. For example, styrene emissions from vinyl composite materials increase 1.3 times when the temperature rises from 23 to 40 degrees Celsius. Exposure to styrene affects the nervous system similar to drug addiction, it causes slow brain reactions, problems with concentration and mental imbalance.
Dr. Ajai said that continuous exposure to styrene not only affects the functioning of the kidneys, but the International Agency for Research on Cancer, including the United States Department of Health and Human Services, have determined that styrene is a potential carcinogen. Studies have revealed an increased risk of esophageal and pancreatic cancer in individuals exposed to styrene. And animal studies have shown that high doses of styrene damage sperm in them.
Expressing concern, Dr Ajai said that styrene is a highly unstable hydrocarbon that starts emitting automatically when the temperature changes. Today, plastic is used in laminates and various decorative materials in our homes, due to which styrene is constantly present in the air we breathe in the house, which can cause depression, mental instability and other mental and physical diseases for the people living in that house.
He said that our food, drinks, medicines, even the blood, plasma, platelets etc. stored and used in blood banks are all in plastic pouches, styrene can reach all these from the packaging material.
Scientist Dr. Ajai revealed that even workers exposed to styrene while working in the plastic industry have been found to have damage to genetic material (chromosomes).
He further said that styrene is a key component in the production of many plastics and synthetic rubbers, including polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene (ABS) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). These materials are used in a wide range of products such as food and drug containers, computer housings and automobile parts.
Dr. Ajai Kumar Sonkar said that by extracting fossil fuel from the depth of the earth, this crude oil is heated at 370 degrees Celsius. At 25 degrees Celsius, petroleum gas is obtained, at 25 to 60 degrees Celsius petrol is obtained, at 60 to 180 degrees naphtha is obtained, from which all types of plastics are made. Paraffin is obtained at 180 to 220 degrees Celsius, fuel oil at 250 to 300 degrees Celsius, lubricating oil at 300 to 350 degrees Celsius and finally bitumen is obtained at 350 degrees, from which black roads are traditionally made.
As can be understood that all these petroleum products are obtained from crude oil at different temperatures, the heat resistance properties of all products are different. But every petroleum product contains carcinogenic chemical compounds.
Styrene is one of the countless dreadful effects of petroleum products, Dr. Ajai said that I have found in my in-depth study on petroleum based products that they are a curse for the environment and lives on earth in every form.
Although in today's modern lifestyle petroleum products have become an important need for energy and various development purposes, but from the point of view of environmental interest, petroleum products should be used in a highly controlled working conditions, just as there are strict rules for the maintenance and use of radioactive substances in view of the danger of radiation emission.
In the same way, all petroleum based products including plastics emit deadly chemical compounds cause diseases like cancer and factors that cause environmental damage. Their open and uncontrolled use should also not be allowed.