Many are concerned with the amount of pollutants that a car is expelling from it’s exhaust, and the harm it does to the environment. But strangely, there is not much focus on toxins inside the car, where it affects you directly the most.
The chart above shows results obtained with non-profit environmental group Ecology Center used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, which identifies the elemental composition of any material to look for known toxins such as chlorine, bromine, arsenic, mercury and others. The presence of these harmful chemicals were checked in the dashboard, steering wheel, carpet, armrests and other locations. You actually breathe in these toxins when you drive your car around, as they get released under heat over time.
Apparently the Nissan Versa has the most harmful interior of all the vehicles they tested. This is the same car Hiro Nakamura drives around in the TV Series Heroes, so perhaps mutation from these chemicals are what’s causing his time travelling powers. Just kidding. It’s also quite strange that the Volvo S40 and V50 would score differently since they are essentially sedan and stationwagon versions of the same car.
We should also be slightly concerned as the Versa is most probably coming to our shores as a Nissan Latio, since lightly camouflaged Latios have been spotted going about test routes in Genting.
There is also another list with vehicles separated according to class here.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
statistic void if smoking apply,
Makes us wonder whether our cars are really that "safe" isn't it?
We just love the smell of a brand new car, don't we.
I remember the day I took delivery of my new car – I just loved the interior smell so much I didn't want to get out.
Guess I need to think twice if I am ever gonna do the same thing again.
Better still, calculate the number of times we inhale and exhale while we are inside our cars … lol
Cheers!
what chemical give more weight is not mentioned. Is there a full link?
Paul,
Actually, there is an annex in the End-Of-Life Vehicle (ELV) regulation in Europe which specifically limits or bans the amount of hazardous substances (specifically Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, Lead and Mercury) that can be found in a car.
All component suppliers are required to list the compliance statuses of their parts/components in the International Material Data System (IMDS) .
The said heavy metals are also referred to as Substances of Concern (SoC). As far as I know, local automakers (Proton and Perodua) and some assemblers have started these activities some time back, that is to change the materials to more friendly materials. The European deadline for this is October 2007. All new models launched in the Europe after the deadline are to comply with this regulation.
Almost all automakers are trying hard to comply with regulation but however, not every one of them use the IMDS tracking website. Those that do not use the IMDS will do their own tracking. The EU-ELV regulation are actually stipulated in the part/component drawings of the automakers. Some exceptions do apply however. Example is lead-acid battery where lead is actually very critical to the performance of the battery.
even though car manufacturer had already adopted to use more healthy products and more environ friendly ones… i think its still consumer(car owner) responsibility to taking care of their own health! We never know those costdown practice or material shortage have any impact on their production lines and finally no choice, use as it is basis(hazardous material to maintain their productions output!) who knows ???
After parked your car more than 2hours under the sun, i suggest to wind down your windows for at least 5mins drive….(with aircon on.. to help circulate old fumes reside in aircon vents and channels) i hope this would helps to release at least 30-50% of those hazardous "fumes" generated from heat + chemical inside our car interior… its still a user own responsibilites!
on weekend, just open your car doors leave it there…(but watch out for rains!)
proton GL said,
March 20, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
statistic void if smoking apply
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lol! i like that hahah
transformer said,
March 21, 2007 @ 10:38 am
…
After parked your car more than 2hours under the sun, i suggest to wind down your windows for at least 5mins drive….(with aircon on.. to help circulate old fumes reside in aircon vents and channels) i hope this would helps to release at least 30-50% of those hazardous “fumes†generated from heat + chemical inside our car interior… its still a user own responsibilites!
on weekend, just open your car doors leave it there…(but watch out for rains!)
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Ok that tips apply, same when u are in a long distance journey. Once in a while, u wind down ur windows too. Or otherwise if u open it to smoke, its same like protonGL said lol
hazardous fumes in a car????! ohh puh leez!
unluckily p1 & p2 not sold in the us. would be interesting to know abt these two since its produce majority of car used by m'sian.