Carcinogens are agents that can promote the development of cancer: to date, more than one hundred carcinogens are known, but many other substances are suspected of being so. These include TCIPP, a type of flame retardant used in car seats, which has a significant impact on the air quality inside the car.
Among carcinogenic substances, an agent suspected of causing cancer has come under the scrutiny of researchers because it is present in the air we breathe inside our cars, an important microenvironment to consider in understanding human exposure to these substances. It’s about the TCIPP, also known as tris (1-chloro-isopropyl) phosphatea flame retardant used in seat foam to meet safety standards but which, being semi-volatile, is released into the cabin air.
According to a recent survey, the TCIPP is present in 99% of car interiors produced in the United States since 2015, with a significant impact on the air quality inside the cars. “We discovered that the materials used in the passenger compartment of cars they release chemicals that are harmful to health – said the lead author of the research, Dr. Rebecca Hoehn of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina – . Considering that, on average, the driver of a car spends about an hour every day in the car, this is a significant problem”.
What substances are known and suspected of causing cancer
Carcinogens are agents that increase the risk of developing cancer. To date, there are more than one hundred known carcinogens, classified as certain carcinogens for humans (group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO).
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However, many other substances are suspected of being so – probable carcinogens (group 2A) and possible carcinogens (group 2B) – and therefore the subject of study by researchers. Among these, as mentioned, is tris (1-chloro-isopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), which is currently under investigation by the United States National Toxicology Program (NTP) as a potential carcinogen.
Carcinogenic substances can be chemical agents (such as asbestos), physical agents (such as ultraviolet rays from the sun) or biological agents (such as infections caused by some viruses), although some of the most important carcinogenic agents belong to well-known categories of compounds, such as polycyclic hydrocarbons (benzoanthracene, benzopyrene), amines aromatics (benzidine, naphthylamine), nitroso-derivatives, lactones. It is important to point out that simple contact with a carcinogenic substance it doesn’t mean necessarily that cancer will develop, but factors such as prolonged or high-dose exposure can increase the risk.
Potential carcinogens inside the car
The air we breathe inside our cars is polluted by volatile and semi-volatile compounds, including some known and suspected of causing cancer. According to a new study, just published on Environmental Science & Technologypart of this pollution is due to the use of flame retardantsmixtures of man-made chemical compounds that are added to interior materials, including seat foam, to reduce flammability and meet safety standards.
As part of the research, scholars detected the presence of flame retardants inside the cabins of 101 cars produced since 2015 in the United States: 99% of cars contained tris(1-chloro-isopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP), the flame retardant that was the subject of the aforementioned NTP investigation. Other organophosphate ester flame retardants, including tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), already linked, were also present in most cars. to neurological damage and reproductive toxicity.
The researchers also found that the release of these substances increases in the presence of higher temperatures, therefore when the car is parked or heated by the sun. The researchers’ advice is to “reduce exposure to flame retardants inside the car by opening windows and parking in the shade” says study co-author Professor Lydia Jahl of the Green Science Policy Institute in Berkeley, California.
“However, what is really necessary – added the researcher – is to first and foremost reduce the amount of flame retardants used in cars. Go to work should not pose a cancer risk and children should not breathe chemicals that can damage their brains while they go to school”.
