Frightening Toxins Inside Automobiles

The toxins inside of today's automobiles are just as lethal as the toxins that come from them, say experts from the Ecology Center and the Scientific American.

Many studies conducted in the United States and England have independently come to the same result: Vehicles are much more dangerous than we thought. Many vehicle part suppliers regularly make use of mercury, cadmium and lead, while some cars still utilize large amounts of asbestos for fire resistance. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Below is an explanation of some of the dangerous chemicals that have been regularly found in mass produced vehicles, and how you can avoid experiencing their toxic effects.

That "New Car Smell”

If you can imagine what inhaling a combination of rubber cement, glue and formaldehyde would do to your body, you might only purchase used cars for the rest of your life.

That's right - that new car smell is toxic.

Experts recommend that in order to avoid the toxic effects of this chemical cocktail, which can cause mesothelioma, liver disease and digestion problems, you should never enter a warm car with the windows up. The interior air of a standing vehicle with no ventilation builds up dangerous levels of toxicity.

All That Plastic

In the dashboard, the particleboard, the seats and the other rubber components of your car is a popular solvent known as formaldehyde. While used quite commonly in many products, including cars, exposure to formaldehyde can cause heart disease and cancer, among other serious health problems.

In order to avoid overexposure to this chemical, experts recommend that you never use the recirculation function in your air conditioning system. Recirculating the air in your car uses the interior air to heat or cool the environment, and while this may conserve energy, it also increases the amount of airborne toxins within the vehicle.

Older Vehicles

Older vehicles regularly used asbestos as protection against fire on vehicle parts such as clutch linings, brake pads, hood liners, drum brakes, gaskets, etc. Asbestos exposure has been proven to cause birth defects, heart disease and mesothelioma, among other things.

In order to protect yourself in this environment, make sure to wear a gas mask whenever you pop the hood on the vehicle. Also, do not work on the vehicle yourself unless you have a gas mask.