Environmental, health and safety concerns of decorative mouldings made of expanded polystyrene in buildings

Decorative tiles and mouldings made of polymeric foams are getting more popular in buildings. There are health, safety and environmental concerns on these products and their use in the buildings. In this paper, we report the results of the study and discuss about concerns of decorative mouldings made of expanded polystyrene (EPS). Physical damage to the structure of the building, potential harms to residents and health hazards were found as main concerns in this regard. The use of decorative mouldings made of EPS in the buildings is the subject to some considerations. The climate conditions play significant role in the feasibility of usage of decorative mouldings in the buildings. Although these products may add some aesthetic effects to the building's exterior view, the observations and results of this study do not support the use of the products in the buildings. Decorative mouldings bring significant safety and health risks, and it is recommended that for usage in buildings, particularly residential ones the decorative moulding, to be made of non-flammable light-weight materials or to be completely excluded from the buildings. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.