According to a study published by Duke researchers in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the air in cars may be polluted by known or suspected carcinogenic flame retardants.Manufacturers often add these chemicals to seat foam and other materials to meet flame retardant standards.The researchers said that this issue has great public health significance, considering that drivers spend at least one hour in the car every day on average.This is particularly worrisome for people with long commutes and for children passengers.Researchers detected flame retardants in 101 vehicles from all over the United States.99% of the cars contain tris (1-chloroisopropyl) phosphate.This is a flame retardant, which is under investigation by the National Toxicology Program of the United States and is suspected to be carcinogenic.Most cars also have other organic phosphate flame retardants, including tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate, which are carcinogens pointed out in California Proposition 65.These flame retardants are also associated with damage to the nervous and reproductive systems.The researchers emphasized that opening the windows and parking the car in the shade may reduce the exposure of flame retardants in the car, but what is really needed is to reduce the amount of flame retardants added in the car. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.3c10440 https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2024/5/522371.shtm
