We learned earlier this year that the flame retardants used on the foam found inside the seats of almost every car sold in the U.S. contains known carcinogens that off-gas in high temperatures, and now a flag is being raised about the same carcinogens in children’s car seats. The manufacturers of some kid’s seats have taken steps over the past few years to make fire retardant–free seats, but many cheaper units haven’t taken these steps.
Some manufacturers have switched away from using fire retardant chemicals in their child seats by using denser upholstery materials, but this results in a more expensive seat. Considering the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established the federal flammability standards over 50 years ago when smoking was commonplace and so were open flames in the car, opponents are arguing the regulation needs to be reassessed. According to Autoweek,
The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Ecology Center published a study in 2022 that said “more than half of US children’s car seats still contain hazardous chemicals such as flame retardants…A number of flame retardants are known endocrine disruptors.” The center tested more than 600 components of 25 car seats, three from the European Union and 22 from the US.
The federal flammability standard FMVSS 302 says the interior of a car has to withstand an open flame, despite less than 10 percent of modern vehicle fires igniting due to an open flame. In 10 states across the contiguous United States it’s actually illegal for drivers to smoke in their car when there’s a child inside, so open flames near child seats are rare occurrences.
Some folks believe the NHTSA should make an exception for child car seat flammability requirements. It seems unlikely that the NHTSA would remove its flammability requirements, but it raises an important argument. Click here to read the Ecology Center’s 2022 children’s car seat report.