Toxic At Any Speed: Chemicals in Cars and the Need for Safe Alternatives

Seat cushions, arm rests, floor coverings and plastic parts used in most car interiors are made with toxic chemicals known to pose major public health risks. PBDEs, used as fire retardants, and phthalates, used to soften PVC plastics, have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births, and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.

A first-of-its-kind report by the Ecology Center — Toxic at Any Speed: Chemicals in Cars and the Need for Safe Alternatives — found significantly higher levels of PBDEs in vehicle dust and windshield wipe samples than those found in homes and offices in previous studies. Since the average American spends more than one and a half hours in their cars every day, this is a significant source of indoor air pollution. The study ranks car manufacturers according to the levels of toxic chemicals found inside the vehicles.

See the Report Press Release: HTML or PDF
See the Follow-up Press Release: HTML or PDF

RESOURCES

Report and Fact Sheets
News Stories
Auto Company Chemicals Policies
Corporate Commitments to Phase-Out PVC and PBDEs
Legislative Information
Related Reports – Phthalates
Related Reports – PBDEs
Deca Alternatives
Other Toxins Inside Vehicles

Report and Fact Sheets

• Report
• Report Executive Summary
• PBDE Factsheet
• Phthalate Factsheet
• Flame Retardants: Alarming Increases in Humans and the Environment
• Company Ranking

Links to Related News Stories

• CNN – 'New car smell' includes toxins
• Detroit News – Study finds toxic threat in auto interiors
• NBC5, Chicago – Study critiques air quality while driving
• KHOU, Texas – Automotive pollution inside your car
• E Magazine – New Car Smell: It's Not So Sweet
• Volvo Press Release – Volvo models best in interior air quality
• Automotive News – Group warns of bad 'indoor' vehicle air
• Detroit Free Press – Your car may be making you sick
• The Register, UK – Flame retardants enter Arctic food chain
• Ann Arbor News – Study: Car dust may pose risk to health
• Consumer Affairs – Group Warns of Polluted Air Inside Cars

Auto Company Chemicals Policies

• Chemical House - Ranks automakers' chemical policies
• Global Automotive Declarable Substance List
• Volvo Black List (Chemicals that are banned)
• Volvo Grey List (Chemicals that are limited)
• Volvo White List (Substitutes for Hazardous Chemicals)
• GM Restricted and Reportable Substances

Corporate Commitments to Phase-Out PVC and PBDEs

• Honda Letter – PVC
• Microsoft Letter – PVC
• Crabtree & Evelyn Letter – PVC
• Hewlett Packard News Release – PVC and BFRs
• Dell Letter and Dell Position Statement – PBDEs and BFRs

Legislative Information

• European Parliament to take the European Commission to the European Court of Justice over Deca-BDE, January 10, 2006
• Denmark to Sue EU over Flame Retardant Linked to Birth Defects
• U.S. Legislation Factsheet

Links to Enacted PBDE State Legislation

• California Bill #AB302
• Hawaii Bill #HB2013
• Illinois Bill #HB2572
• Maine Bill #LD1790
• Maryland Bill #HB83
• Michigan Senate Bill #SB1458 (octa)
• Michigan House Bill #HB4406 (penta)
• New York Bill #10050a
• Oregon Bill #SB962
• Washington State's PBDE Chemical Action Plan

Links to Phthalate Legislation

• California Bill #AB319 (not passed)
• Maryland Bill #HB52 (not passed)
• New York City Int. 544-A
• Boston Resolution

Related Reports – Phthalates

• PVC – Bad News Comes in Threes: The Poison Plastic, Health Hazards, and the Looming Waste Crisis - Be Safe
• An Estimation of the Daily Intake of DEHP and Other Phthalates in the General Population – International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
• Expert Panel Update on the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity of DEHP Phthalate – Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction
• Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans – Health Care Without Harm

Related Reports – PBDEs

• Sick of Dust – Chemicals in Common Products, A Needless Health Risk in Our Homes – Safer Products Project
• Body of Evidence II: Latest Science on the Dangers of Deca-BDE in Consumer Products – Illinois PIRG
• Brominated Flame Retardants: Rising Levels of Concern. Health Care Without Harm

Deca Alternatives

• Decabromodiphenylether: An Investigation of Non-Halogen Substitutes in Electronic Enclosure and Textile Applications. Prepared by Pure Strategies for the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. April, 2005
• Survey and Technical Assessment of Alternatives to Deca-BDE in Plastics – Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate
• Washington State's PBDE Chemical Action Plan and Alternatives Assessment

Other Toxins Inside Vehicles

• Don't Breath and Drive? Pollutants Lurk Inside Vehicles – Environmental Health Perspectives
• Volatile Organic Compounds Inside Car Interiors – CSIRO
• Indentification of Volatile Organic Compounds in a New Automobile – Scientific Instrument Service

If you have questions or comments please contact:
Jeff Gearhart 734-663-2400 ext 117
Charles Griffith 734-663-2400 ext 116