White stiraphom type specs falling from sky

[Emilyanne]

I have witnessed falling, and floating specs of a white stiraphom type substance in san francisco today at about 3 0clock. And small pieces kept falling until about 4 o clock. I can see small pieces occasionally now but it finally seems to have stopped. Let's see? What could this be? I saved some smaller pieces, but sadly dropped the biggest one. It felt like a soft stiraphom. Very white, not ash or snow or anything like that. Please let me know asap! I'm very curious. Iv never seen anything like this happen.

[Sensei]

Do you meant styrofoam?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Styrofoam

 

Styrofoam is used as thermal insulator in buildings.

If there was serious fire, it could be ejected and fly in the air..

Also while installing insulation of building by construction workers, it's cut in pieces, and some of it will fly away with the air, and dirty streets in neighborhood.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Sensei

[Phi for All]

San Francisco passed a ban on styrofoam earlier this year, so if it is styrofoam it's illegal.

 

http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/SF-bans-Styrofoam-and-other-cities-should-follow-8353106.php

[arc]

You are likely seeing the result of the installation of an EFIS system on the exterior of a building.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exterior_insulation_finishing_system

 

This video below is not an EFIS installation but it does show how much of the polystyrene foam is lost with just a small amount of processing. Normally the flat polystyrene panels are screwed to the building's exterior and then covered with a mesh on to which a thin layer of stucco is applied. Normally the panels need to be cut to fit around window and door openings, and when smaller pieces are needed at corners and other transitions. The mess is made when these panels are cut to size, usually with just a hand held carpenters saw.

 

 

When they want the buildings to have architectural accents like enormous bull-nose cornices they will stack and layer large dimensional polystyrene foam pieces together and then sand them to shape with large rasp sanding boards.

 

 

I have seen at one construction site what looked like a snow storm as a dozen workers sanded off a 1/3 to a 1/2 of the material to gain the desired shape. The stuff was blowing down the street and piling up as drifts against curbs and buildings. These were mostly the tiny round foam components that make up the bulk material. The debris in the video is even finer and will stay airborne for great distances.

 

Much of this mess can be eliminated if architects avoid custom shapes and use factory available pieces.

[Sensei]

Much of this mess can be eliminated if architects avoid custom shapes and use factory available pieces.

 

More realistic would be using hot wire for cutting styrofoam instead of f.e. angle grinder (or similar device)..