Even your new eco-friendly car can expose you to harmful elements every time you drive it.
Recent studies have found that the flame retardant chemicals used in new cars can cause brain confusion, irritability, hormone imbalances, and a host of other health problems. To make matters worse, tests have confirmed that the interiors of most cars, even eco-friendly electric vehicles, contain up to 250 toxic chemicals.
“Commuting shouldn’t involve risking cancer, and children shouldn’t be inhaling chemicals that can harm their brains on the way to school.”
That means every time you drive a brand new electric car (or most cars under four years old), there’s a chance it’ll poison you.
The study, published May 7, Environmental Science and TechnologyThe study analyzed the interior air of 101 electric, gas and hybrid vehicles from all 30 states from model years 2015 to 2022.
The researchers found that 99 percent of the cars contained a flame retardant called TCIPP, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. National Toxicology Program as a possible carcinogen. Additionally, most of the cars also contained two other flame retardants that are considered to be carcinogens: TDCIPP and TCEP.
“Given that the average driver spends about an hour each day in their car, this is a significant public health issue,” lead researcher and toxicologist Rebecca Hoen of Duke University said in a statement. “It’s especially of concern for drivers with long commutes and for child passengers, who can absorb more air per pound than adults.”
Summer also leads to higher levels of toxic flame retardants because the heat increases the release of chemicals from car materials, according to studies.
The source of the carcinogenic compounds in the air inside cars, the researchers say, is seat foam, which is made with flame retardants to meet the requirements of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302, which has not been updated since it was introduced in the 1970s.
“Firefighters are concerned that flame retardants are contributing to their sky-high cancer rates. Filling products with these harmful chemicals does little to prevent fires in most applications, and instead makes fires more fumes and more toxic to victims, especially emergency responders,” Patrick Morrison, director of health, safety and medical affairs for the International Association of Fire Fighters, said in a news release. “I believe that [the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] NHTSA plans to update the vehicle interior to meet flammability standards without the use of flame-retardant chemicals.”
The researchers argue that these toxic flame retardants offer no real benefit in cars.
Study author Lydia Yahr, a senior scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute, said parking your car in the shade or in a garage with the windows down could reduce your exposure to toxic flame retardants.
“But what we really need is fewer flame retardants added to cars in the first place,” she says. “Commuting shouldn’t be a cancer risk, and kids shouldn’t be inhaling chemicals that can harm their brains on the way to school.”
What about that new car smell? It comes from a mixture of chemicals called volatile organic compounds. These compounds come from the materials used in a car’s interior, including plastics, adhesives, and fabrics. When a car freshly rolls off the assembly line, these materials give off gases, a process called outgassing. These gases create the distinctive new car scent.
VOCs include formaldehyde, toluene, and benzene, which are what give cars their new-car smell, but in high concentrations they’re not great for your health. Studies have shown that these chemicals can cause headaches, dizziness, and even respiratory problems. Plus, Forbes reported earlier this year that today’s “new-car smell” contains carcinogens. The Beijing study cited found that new SUVs contained extremely high concentrations of the dangerous chemicals on hot days.
The “good” news is that VOC concentrations decrease over time. That strong new car smell fades as the vehicle ages and materials stop off-gassing. In fact, most VOCs are significantly reduced within a few months.
Automakers are aware of the health concerns and are constantly working to reduce the amount of VOCs in new cars, using lower-emission materials and better ventilation systems to keep the air inside the car cleaner.
To reduce your exposure to this toxic material, open the windows to let out some of the toxic materials inside the car and consider non-toxic covers to minimize skin contact with seats and interior surfaces that contain flame retardants and other toxic chemicals.
You can reduce your exposure to toxic chemicals by parking your car in the shade with the windows open.
