A group of U.S. senators has urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to review its vehicle flammability standard concerning known and potential carcinogens.

“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, ” wrote Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Morgan Griffith, R-Va., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif.

“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.”

Consumer Reports (CR), the Green Science Policy Institute, and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) delivered a letter signed by more than 70 organizations and a petition with more than 32,000 signatures to NHTSA in June calling on the agency to update the standard for car interiors and child car seats.

According to the May 2024 study, the most prevalent flame retardant, tris (1-chloro-isopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), was found in 99% of tested cars and is under investigation by the U.S. National Toxicology Program as a potential carcinogen. Other frequently detected flame retardants included two California Proposition 65 carcinogens that are linked to infertility, pregnancy complications, and neurological problems.

The Green Science Policy Institute also contends there is a lack of data that demonstrates any fire safety benefits by meeting the FMVSS 302 standard.

“This 53-year-old standard is a misguided relic of a bygone era,” said Arlene Blum, Green Science Policy Institute executive director, in a news release. “It’s uncertain whether this standard has ever provided any benefit, even in the days when smoking while driving was commonplace. What is certain is that these chemicals pose a serious health risk to drivers, passengers, workers, and especially to children.”

Modernizing the standard to maintain fire safety without harmful flame retardants would mirror changes to California’s flammability standard for furniture and baby products, according to the release from the Green Science Policy Institute.

The legislators suggested in their letter that NHTSA consider establishing the same standard for vehicles as Congress did in 2021 with its Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act. According to the letter, the law established a more effective smolder standard to reduce everyday exposure to harmful flame retardants.

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