MATSUI, BLUMENTHAL, GRIFFITH SOUND ALARM ON TOXIC CHEMICALS FOUND IN VEHICLES

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) raised concerns about known and suspected carcinogens found in flame retardants used in vehicle interiors.

A recent study from Duke University, the University of Toronto, and the Green Science Policy Institute found that nearly all vehicles studied contained known and suspected carcinogens associated with IQ loss and other neurodevelopmental harms. Matsui, Blumenthal, and Griffith are now calling on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to review its federal flammability standard to ensure that consumers are protected from both fires and harmful chemicals in their vehicles. This follows a similar petitionto NHTSA led by Consumer Reports with over 32,000 signatures.

"We were proud to lead the Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act, which Congress passed in 2021, to update the federal flammability standard for upholstered furniture, moving to a more effective smolder standard and reducing consumers' everyday exposure to harmful flame retardants," wrote the lawmakers. "It may be time for NHTSA to consider doing the same for vehicles."

The full text of the letter is available here.

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