買新車~`和不孕~~有什麼關係？

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7260678
October 21, 2009

買新車和不孕有什麼關係？

Is your new car making you sick?
SALLY DOMINGUEZ
October 16, 2009Be the first to comment

New car smell... it can be overpowering. Photo iStock
For the sake of your health you should give recently purchased vehicles a good airing.

It used to be that buying a new car was a totally positive experience. That was until somebody started testing the interiors for toxins.

It turns out the new-car smell you experience is the result of the factory-fresh, high-tech materials in the seats and on the dash undergoing off-gassing.

This process releases chemicals and allergens, collectively known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The phenomenon is not car-specific. Your bed linen, mattress, kitchen benchtops, walls and carpet will all create a haze as their chemical composites react with daily life. Even your plastic drink bottle could be doing it.

A 2001 CSIRO report investigating the effects of these compounds found buildings with concentrations of more than 10 milligrams per cubic metre caused negative sensory effects on the occupants, a situation known as sick building syndrome. The report found there were concentrations of up to 64 milligrams per cubic metre in new cars and concluded a range of compounds were capable of causing symptoms from itches and blotches to estrogen-induced infertility.

Bromide, for instance, is an effective and easy-to-use fire suppressor used throughout a typical car interior on seats and carpet. One common retardant known as deca is a bio-accumulator that collects and lurks in the human body, possibly affecting brain and thyroid function. Fully known as deca-brominated diphenyl ether, the substance was banned in the EU in mid-2008 with a US ban looking set to follow.

Chromium is another clandestine inclusion if you upgrade to leather. Commonly used in tanning to soften hides and stabilise colour, it is an allergen shown to cause infertility in tests on rats. A 2005 Japanese study of 101 Japanese cars found greater air pollution in luxury cars, which the study attributed to extensive interior leather trim.

A problem with off-gassing is you can't necessarily assess its brew. The smell of a new car could be phthalate plasticisers or just strong cleaning agents, either benign or nasty, depending on the mix. A film of vapour on the windscreen is a visual clue to high VOCs but the detail of what that particular concoction is doing to you and your passengers is impossible to glean from your owner's manual or local dealer. Where food products list their additives in detail, your vehicle will list the "made in" without the "made of".

The good news is that a little bit of air and breathing time for your car can make it almost better. About 80 per cent of off-gassing occurs in the first three months of a car's life.

The CSIRO study and a more recent US study on VOCs in vehicles found off-gassing is exacerbated by heat and that compound levels are at their relative lowest when the vehicle is in motion with the driver's window half down. So, don't seal for speed until your first service.

Park the newbie in the sun with the windows slightly down as often as possible. Crank up the air-conditioning to fast-forward the curing process. Or reap the health rewards of a used car in which some other punter has borne the brunt.

In a handy boon for car buyers, a US consumer website, HealthyCar.org, extensively tests that country's top-selling cars for the five most common and most toxic chemicals and supplies the information free.

Even better news is that some manufacturers are taking proactive steps to switch to natural resins, organic-based textiles and alternative leather treatments. Just as consumers have forced the market of genetically unmodified and chemically untainted food to grow, we can force a change in the way our cars are fitted, finished and labelled. And all-natural interiors go hand in hand with the new, planet-friendlier powertrains.

Pedestrians have forced fundamental changes in vehicle engineering design. Form-wise, we lost our sleek bonnets, sci-fi pop-up headlights and our bonnet bling. At the tail-end, reduced emissions let the punter breathe easy.

Ironically, many of the makes that take such responsible care of the ambulators may leave their drivers warm and fuzzy for all the wrong reasons. Let's hope the fundamental changes rocking the car industry include growing the practice of using safer foams, fibres and trim. In the meantime, a new-found concern for your vehicular airspace is the perfect excuse to restore that V8 muscle car selflessly airing itself in the shed ...

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買新車和不孕有什麼關係？

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