I hate cars as much as the next sane person. That being said... Is there anything that doesn't potentially cause cancer anymore? It makes it hard to take seriously, because if I did then I'd be paranoid about everything and my anxiety would be fucking overwhelming. Seems every day we find something seemingly harmless can cause cancer and it feels almost surreal.
That's because pretty much everything does cause cancer eventually. That's just a consequence of how cellular division works. The trick is knowing how much exposure to any given thing is needed to cause cancer, and whether you're likely to reach that threshold before you die of anything else.
Yeah, living causes cancer. The real question is, how much does something increase your risk of developing cancer. If it's less than the increase from walking around outside for a few hours on a bright day you can pretty safely ignore that. As long as you're not eating the interior of your car I doubt this poses a significant risk.
Not sure exactly why you're getting downvoted as that was essentially the point of the article:
Flame retardant chemicals off-gas or leach from the seat and interior fabrics into the air, — especially in hot weather, when car interiors can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Advocates argue that the risks of these chemicals outweigh the benefits.
But health researchers have found that the average U.S. child has lost up to 5 IQ points from exposure to flame retardants in cars and furniture. And adults with the highest levels of flame retardants in their blood face a risk of death by cancer that is four times greater than those with the lowest levels, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The article implies that it's a long term thing, but doesn't actually state if it's better or worse for older cars?
Do people that exclusively buy used cars have less exposure because there isn't as much off gassing of the newly applied chemicals? Or are older cars more susceptible due to the breakdown over time?
The flame retardant thing is baffling me, anyway. Flame retardant fabrics/plastics in a vehicle either toting around 10-20 gallons of monumentally flammable gasoline, or hundreds of kWh of lithium batteries. Sure, chief, the fabrics will keep it from catching on fire...
"Morrison, of the firefighters advocacy group, added that “firefighters are concerned that flame retardants contribute to their very high cancer rates.” "
Firefighters union (IAFF) is currently having to sue the governing body (NFPA) to remove carcinogens in the clothes (bunker gear/turnouts) they wear.
Well fuck. I got all the retard and no flame from all the cars over the years. One more for the multitude of things I've been exposed to that make me stuoid.
Adding to this, unless you did the importing yourself, it's still subject to the exact same regulations. Under the law, Hondas are domestic (made in Ohio). Lexuses (made in Japan) are imported, but have to meet all of the same requirements to be sold en masse. This includes federal (including safety standards) and state (most famously, California fuel efficiency requirements).