There’s nothing like freshly fallen snow unless it made of Styrofoam floating down from construction sites in July instead of from the clouds in January.
That’s why City Council Members Stephen Levin (D-Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill) Brad Lander (D-Park Slope, Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Antonio Reynoso (D-Williamsburg, Bushwick) are pushing a bill to stop the showers of foam dust flying off construction sites and polluting streets and waterways.
The lawmakers say the foam is particularly pernicious because it is lightweight and easily flies through the air into storm drains, rivers, and out into the ocean where the foam leaches chemicals and harms marine wildlife before making its way up the food chain.
“New York City has the opportunity to protect our waterways and marine life on a global scale,” said Levin. “There is a tremendous amount of construction in my district, from Downtown Brooklyn through North Brooklyn and it’s critical to ensure that construction sites are properly mitigating toxic dust so that it doesn’t litter our streets or pollute our ocean and rivers.”
The legislation would expand the definition of dust that must be mitigated during construction so as not to become airborne to include “any material, regardless of composition, designed and customarily used in construction.” Further, it increases the minimum civil penalty for corporations that fail to prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne.
“While very effective in energy efficient buildings, foam-core is still a toxic pollutant that does not decompose for centuries,” said Council Member Brad Lander. “This bill will ensure that this increasingly common building material is handled appropriately and properly regulated to protect our environment and keep New Yorkers safe.”
Expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) has been used in construction as insulation since the 1950s and laudably, has been found to be very effective in the construction of energy efficient buildings. However, its use to advance green building goals must be balanced with protecting the environment from residual effects, say the lawmakers.
And while ordinary snow melts with warmer weather, this white stuff is virtually indestructible and does not decompose for centuries. A recent study found that global waters contain at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles, weighing 268,940 tons, with microplastics accounting for 92.4% of the particle count. By the researchers’ own admission, this estimate is considered to be “highly conservative.”
“We’ve seen situations in my district where developers use this material, and it looks like it’s snowing in the middle of the summer. North Brooklyn is now a hub of development, and has more than its fair share of pollution in the air and water, as well as irresponsible developers who don’t properly mitigate their sites. We have to combat this on all fronts, including getting rid of this unnecessary, toxic, and non-biodegradable material,” said Reynoso.
In waterways, the artificial snow acts as a sponge for toxic pollutants and due to photodegradation, it breaks into increasingly smaller pieces appealing to marine animals that mistake it for edible fish eggs. When it is consumed by marine life, it enters the food chain to be ingested by humans. EPS residues are widely found in samples of human fat tissue. Marine wildlife feel full after eating EPS, however ingestion can lead to intestinal blockages or malnourishment, which can lead to illness or death.
“From a public health perspective, preventing airborne particulate pollution will immediately improve air quality and community well-being; from an environmental perspective, this bill will create cleaner, safer waterways, streets, parks and public spaces,” said Sean Dixon, Staff Attorney at Riverkeeper. “We thank Council Member Levin and urge the rest of the City Council to support this measure to protect our urban environment from this hazardous source of pollution.”
