MOTORISTS ARE 'BREATHING IN CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICALS IN THEIR CARS', NEW STUDY WARNS

Motorists are breathing in cancer-causing chemicals when they're in their car, warns new research.

They are at risk of inhaling potential carcinogens as the air inside nearly all vehicles is "polluted" with harmful flame retardants - including those known or suspected to cause cancer, say scientists. Car manufacturers add the chemicals to seat foam and other materials to meet an "outdated" flammability standard with no proven fire-safety benefit, according to the study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Lead author Dr Rebecca Hoehn, of Duke University, said: "Our research found that interior materials release harmful chemicals into the cabin air of our cars. Considering the average driver spends about an hour in the car every day, this is a significant public health issue. It's particularly concerning for drivers with longer commutes as well as child passengers, who breathe more air pound for pound than adults."

The research team detected flame retardants inside the cabins of 101 cars, model year 2015 or newer, from across the US. They found that 99 per cent of cars contained tris (1-chloro-isopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), a flame retardant under investigation by the US National Toxicology Program as a potential carcinogen.

Most cars also had other organophosphate ester flame retardants present, including tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), two California Proposition 65 carcinogens. These and other flame retardants are also linked to neurological and reproductive harms, say scientists. About half of the cars were tested in both summer and winter.

Warmer weather was linked to higher flame retardant concentrations because "off-gassing" from interior components such as seat foam is increased by higher temperatures. And vehicle interiors can reach up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65.5 Celcius). The research team also analysed samples of seat foam from 51 of the cars in the study.

Those that contained the suspected carcinogen TCIPP in their foam tended to have higher concentrations of TCIPP in their air, confirming foam as a source of the flame retardant in cabin air. Flame retardants are added to seat foam to meet the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 302, first introduced in the 1970s and unchanged since.

Patrick Morrison, who oversees Health and Safety for 350,000 U.S. and Canadian firefighters at the International Association of Fire Fighters, said: "Firefighters are concerned that flame retardants contribute to their very high cancer rates. Filling products with these harmful chemicals does little to prevent fires for most uses and instead makes the blazes smokier and more toxic for victims, and especially for first responders.

"I urge NHTSA to update their flammability standard to be met without flame retardant chemicals inside vehicles." Such an update would mirror changes to California's flammability standard for furniture and baby products, which a decade ago was updated to a modern standard that is met without flame retardants.

The update has maintained, or even modestly increased, furniture fire safety and led to lower levels of flame retardants in homes. Previous studies have shown that the average child has lost three to five IQ points from exposure to one flame retardant used in cars and furniture.

A recent research paper also estimated those with highest levels of this flame retardant in their blood had about four times the risk of dying from cancer compared with people with the lowest levels. Study co-author Dr Lydia Jahl, of the Green Science Policy Institute, said: "You may be able to reduce your exposure to flame retardants in your car by opening your windows and parking in the shade. But what's really needed is reducing the amount of flame retardants being added to cars in the first place."

She added: "Commuting to work shouldn't come with a cancer risk, and children shouldn't breathe in chemicals that can harm their brains on their way to school."

2024-05-07T12:40:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd