Catherine Rusoff
Two years ago, Veena Singla of San Francisco volunteered to participate in a study investigating drivers’ exposure to flame retardants used in car seats.
Singla drives an electric car to help the environment, but hadn’t given much thought to the air inside his vehicle. But according to one to study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, “vehicles are likely important sources of human exposure to potentially harmful substances [flame retardants].”
The people most likely to be exposed are passengers, full-time vehicle drivers and children. According to the study, children are at greater risk than adults, even with equivalent travel times.
Singla told CBS News he “never realized there might be toxic chemicals” inside his car. “It was very surprising to me.”
For the study, Singla and 100 other car owners placed silicone strips in their cars for a week to measure chemical levels inside. It was also found that the concentration of these chemicals was two to five times higher in summer compared to winter.
“At higher temperatures, chemicals are able to be released from car materials more easily, and so you end up with higher concentrations,” said study co-author Lydia Jahl, a senior scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute.
The researchers detected flame retardants in all of the cars tested and specifically found TCIPP – which National Institute of Health says it releases toxic gases “when heated to decomposition” – in 99% of the cars tested, but the study did not look at specific makes or models. A group representing automakers said “approved flame retardants” are included in vehicles to meet government-mandated flammability standards.
The researchers cannot say precisely what the health effects of inhaling these flame retardants might be, but they noted that a 2023 U.S. National Toxicology Report “found evidence of carcinogenic activity in…rats and mice” for the most frequently encountered chemical.
Study researchers and others are now calling for the federal flammability standard to be reevaluated, similar to how the standard for upholstered furniture was revised in 2021 to eliminate flame retardants.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which sets these standards, did not respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
The International Association of Firefighters, which represents more than 344,000 firefighters and emergency medical professionals in the U.S. and Canada, said most car fires are the result of engine fires or accidents and do not come from inside the car. But, he said, the chemicals pose a risk to his members.
“You put those flame retardants in there, and the fire starts, that’s what we’re breathing… some of the most toxic air you’ll find anywhere,” said Pat Morrison of the IAFF.
For now, study researchers recommend opening your car windows when you first get in to let the air out and washing your hands after getting in the car.
Ana Werner
