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

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and 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. Blumenthal, Matsui, 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 petition to 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," Blumenthal, Matsui, and Griffith wrote. "It may be time for NHTSA to consider doing the same for vehicles."

The full text of the letter is below and available here.

August 7, 2024

Ms. Sophie Shulman

Deputy Administrator

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, D.C. 20590

Dear Deputy Administrator Shulman,

We write with alarm after a new study of recent model-year vehicles found known and suspected carcinogens in nearly all of the vehicle interiors tested. Motor vehicle manufacturers most commonly meet the required flammability standard Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 302 (FMVSS 302) by adding flame retardants into vehicle seat foam and other materials. However, flame retardants are often highly toxic chemicals with known cancer risks. We urge you to review, and update as necessary, FMVSS 302 to protect consumers from toxic chemicals.

We are concerned that consumers could be unknowingly exposed to these harmful flame retardant chemicals in their vehicles because of this dated standard. When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) adopted FMVSS 302 in 1971, it was designed to protect against the interior spread of fires caused by small, open flames, like discarded cigarettes or matches. Today, far fewer people smoke in their cars, and less than ten percent of vehicle fires are caused by an open flame.^[3] Most vehicle fires are instead caused by mechanical or electrical failures or malfunctions and are very large by the time they reach a vehicle's interior compartment.^[4] We appreciate the NHTSA-commissioned review of the test procedures for FMVSS 302, as reported in an April 2021 study.[5] However, NHTSA must also review the underlying standard to ensure it protects consumers from both fires and harmful chemicals in their vehicles.

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.^[6] It may be time for NHTSA to consider doing the same for vehicles. We look forward to your response on this important matter.

Sincerely,

-30-

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