A first-of-its-kind study released today by the Ecology Center revealed new information about toxic chemical exposure in automobile interiors. PBDEs, used as fire retardants, and phthalates, used primarily to soften PVC plastics (and partly responsible for "new car smell"), were found in dangerous amounts in dust and windshield film samples. Drivers and passengers are exposed through inhalation and contact with dust. These groups of chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems.
http://www.ecocenter.org/releases/20060111_autotoxics.shtml
Posted by Dave at January 11, 2006 06:45 PM