BREAKING: Cancer-causing chemicals inside cars

[Consumer Reports]   Dear Friend, Our cars could be putting our health at risk, and not just from reckless drivers: A new study has found harmful chemicals—including those known or suspected to cause cancer—in the air inside every vehicle researchers tested. The culprit: flame retardant chemicals in seat foam and other parts of a car’s interior that leach into the air inside vehicles. Children and people who spend long periods of time in their vehicles are especially at risk. And because of outdated federal standards, these toxic chemicals are still being used when other alternatives could protect passengers from a fire just as well! It’s time to get harmful flame retardants out of our vehicles. [Tell the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to immediately update safety standards to protect us from fire AND toxic chemicals!Â]( [Sign the Petition]( In a study of 101 cars across 22 brands, researchers at the Green Science Policy Institute and Duke University found that 99 percent of cars contained a flame retardant under investigation by the U.S. National Toxicology Program as a potential carcinogen, and most cars had additional flame retardants present, including two known carcinogens.  Manufacturers add flame retardant chemicals to seat foam and other fabrics—including those in children’s car seats—to meet a 53-year-old federal flammability standard with no proven fire-safety benefit. These chemicals only delay fires for seconds, and when they burn, they create additional toxic gases that can harm people, and contribute to firefighter cancer. By switching to a different type of flammability test, such as the one currently required nationally for upholstered furniture in homes, NHTSA could dramatically lower levels of these toxic flame retardants inside vehicles. But it’s going to take all of us speaking out together to draw attention to this hazard lurking inside our cars! [Add your voice now, and let’s get these toxic, unnecessary chemicals out of our cars, SUVs and trucks!]( [Sign the Petition]( It is well past time to update the federal safety standard that leads to daily harmful exposures for everyone who rides in cars—especially infants and children who spend hours in car seats. Thank you for taking action, and please share this information with friends and family, and those with children or who spend a lot of time in their vehicles. Meg Bohne Consumer Reports [Unsubscribe from Consumer Reports action alerts.]( © 2022 Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY, 10703 [Contact Consumer Reports](