"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
om...

wrote in message
I thought exposed non-skinned styro in a living space was a no-no, due to
the outgassing if it gets exposed to flame?


When used as wall insulation, code requires it to be covered with
sheetrock.. Fact is, the material is less of a problem than most other
items in the room. First, the material must be the modified version of
polystyrene (all foam sold for insulation is). That means it has self
extinguishing properties. It will not burn unless there is another source
of ignition.

Factory Mutual did some testing in their labs some years back. They set
up a "typical living room" with different wall coverings. One test was
with the vinyl covered paneling that was popular some years ago. Another
test was exposed foam insulation. A wastebasket with papers was set in
the corner and lit on fire. The paneling made horrific flames and smoke
while the foam plastic burned up a couple of feet above the wastebasket
and went out on its own.

The main product of combustion of burning styrene is soot. Of course, it
makes a fair amount of soot and you don't want to breath it, but it does
not produce deadly gasses. It is essentially the same as burning oil, the
raw material it is made from.

If the insulation on the windows is burning, you have much more serious
problems that the products of combustion from the insulation will cause.
Huh. I was just remembering the green smoke and acrid smell that would come
off the foam scraps I would throw on the construction trash fire as a kid,
from the type of foam panels in use in those days (mid-70s). That was
generally the blue stuff that felt almost like sandpaper, and fractured like
wood when broken, without breaking up into a zillion little balls like the
modern white stuff does. I'm no chemist, so I have no idea what the non-dino
components of the stuff were.

aem sends....