While I grew up in Encinitas, CA, I never became a surfer (shocking, I know). Sure, I did some boogie boarding and body surfing, but was never good enough to even consider being a poser. I did appreciate the surfing culture and was saddened when I read last year that Clark Foam was ceasing production of surfboard blanks, the foam core of a surfboard that is shaped into the final board.
While there is some debate that Orange County simply wanted that business out of their area, the fact is the foam used Toluene Di Isocynate (TDI), a chemical that caused some environmental concerns. Rather than fight, they are likely going to stop production. The interesting part is that Clark Foam produced the blanks used in 90% of surfboards in the U.S. Needless to say the surfing community is concerned.
The twist of the story came yesterday with Sandia National Laboratories offering to help. They have developed a foam used to protect the electronics in nuclear missles. It doesn’t use TDI and they are working to license it to surfboard manufacturers. That is a colaboration I never would have guessed.