Expanded polypropylene resin beads and foamed molded article thereof

Expanded polypropylene resin beads (b) having a resin melting point of not less than 120° C. but less than 140° C., said resin melting point being determined from a DSC curve obtained by heat flux differential scanning calorimetry in accordance with JIS K7121-1987 in which a sample of 1 to 3 mg of the expanded polypropylene resin beads (b) is heated to 200° C. at a heating rate of 10° C./minute, then cooled to 30° C. at a rate of 10° C./minute, and again heated from 30° C. to 200° C. at a heating rate of 10° C./minute to obtain the DSC curve,

• said expanded polypropylene resin beads (b) having an apparent density ρ1 before heating and an apparent density ρ2 after being heated for 10 seconds in a closed vessel with saturated steam at a temperature lower by 5° C. than the resin melting point, wherein a ratio ρR of the apparent density ρ1 before heating to the apparent density ρ2 after heating is not greater than 1.5.