Toronto homeowner frustrated by potentially harmful Styrofoam 'snowing' on her property

Once chemical is in the environment it can stay there for 'hundreds of years,' says expert

Cbc.ca
Sept. 7, 2022
Sara Jabakhanji

When Lois Dellert looked out her window on Friday morning, she saw what appeared to be a blanket of snow covering her front lawn and vegetable garden -- but it was no September miracle.

Instead, it was construction debris. Crews were installing and sanding exterior polystyrene insulation on a three-storey building next to Dellert's house near Richmond and Bathurst streets just west of downtown Toronto.The little white beads that were blowing around the neighbourhood were polystyrene -- more commonly known as Styrofoam.

"It was literally snowing," Dellert said. "It covered all of my outdoor spaces and because it's so light, the wind just keeps picking it up and it swirls around."

Dellert, who's been living in her home in Toronto's Queen Street West neighbourhood for more than 14 years, said when she went to the construction site, she was told crews would clean up what's left on the street and in the yards.

But despite their effort, Dellert said the Styrofoam was still blowing around. She said she hired three workers to clean it up but the pellets were impossible to remove completely.

"As they were cleaning, more and more Styrofoam was just blowing off the building, so they stopped because there was no point. They couldn't keep up with it," she said.

"It's just pervasive. It's there, it's a mess."

Dellert said she could not use her green roof, patio or Jacuzzi over the Labour Day long weekend because of all the debris..After realizing how difficult it can be to clean, she said she's now concerned the Styrofoam might have serious health and environmental impacts.

Health, environmental impact of Styrofoam
Styrene, a key chemical in Styrofoam, has not only been linked to health issues but can be harmful to the environment as well, said Thomas Tenkate, an associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Occupational Public Health.

"It has been linked to a range of both acute and chronic effects ... such as cancer and endocrine disrupting symptoms as well as issues to do with ... skin, eye irritation and respiratory irritation," Tenkate told CBC Toronto.

"If someone's living next to a site that they're continually doing this from, that potentially could be an impact on them directly as well as a broader impact on the environment."

Styrene, a key chemical in Styrofoam, has not only been linked to health issues but can be harmful to the environment as well, says Thomas Tenkate, associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Occupational Public Health. (Submitted by Lois Dellert)
He said the Styrofoam, which is non bio-degradable, can have a lasting effect on the environment and animals.

"It really breaks up and crushes into very small pieces [which] can get very distributed in the air and distributed widely in the soil and in the water," Tenkate said.

"Once it's in the environment, it's going to stay there for hundreds and hundreds of years."

Companies should consider other options, prof says
Tenkate said construction companies should look at other options for insulation that are biodegradable or recyclable.

"Previous products that we've used in building and construction such as lead, such as asbestos, we've really recognized the human health impacts of those and then we've put in place regulatory structures to to move away from from their use," he said.

"And I think we're in that sort of early stages of really recognizing the impacts of of Styrofoam."

Dellert said she contacted the city's 311 service to report the incident and tried to get in touch with city bylaw enforcement to ask about clean-up efforts but did not hear back.

CBC Toronto reached out by email Tuesday to the City of Toronto and tried to contact the company carrying out the construction by phone. The city said it could not provide answers before the publication of this story and there's been no response yet from the company.

Dellert said despite effort by her and construction crews to clean up, there is still Styrofoam littered all over the neighbourhood.

"The [workers] found Styrofoam pellets in my wood burning chimney," she said.

"they found it stuck to my air conditioners, so it's going to need to be cleaned repeatedly as more of the Styrofoam blows around," Dellert added.

"So the entire neighbourhood needs to be cleaned."