Consumer Protection Report Finds Toxic Chemicals in Child Safety Seats

Nonprofit consumer advocacy group The Ecology Center released a report in early June that revealed that nearly 73% of child safety seats tested contained hazardous, toxic chemicals. Many of these toxic chemicals such as halogenated and non-halogenated organophosphates which are found in the flame retardants used on the fabric covers for the seats, as reported by The Hill.

The Children’s Car Seat Study outlines which companies are implementing policies that would reduce the hazards associated with using their products while at the same time meeting all of the safety standards. It also questions fire-safety benefit of using those chemicals that create health risks.

Two of the substances found in child car safety seats, chlorine and bromine, can be linked to several adverse health conditions such as:

• Thyroid problems
• Reduced fertility
• Cancer
• Behavioral changes
• Learning disabilities
• Memory problems
• Nervous system disorders

These chemicals release faster when they are exposed to the UV rays of the sun and heat as happens with car seats. The irony is that these hazardous chemicals used to make the fabric seat covers fire-retardant don’t really protect children from fire. If a child is strapped in to a safety seat in a car that becomes engulfed in flames, the ever-so-brief delay that the flame retardants create is not adequate to protect a child from a fast moving fire inside of a vehicle.

The best and the worst

The research team tested child car seats from 15 different brands. The top two with the most favorable results were Britax and Clek. Baby Trend and Graco scored the lowest. The report highlights one company, Britax, which heeded the results of previous Ecology Center chemical test reports for infant safety seats and made a commitment to produce safer products with less harmful chemicals. They now restrict the use of chemicals such as phthalates, metals, brominates and chlorinated flame retardants and antimony compounds in the manufacture of their products. Recent reports and studies have indicated that the Orbit Baby G3 Toddler car seat may also pose serious threat to children and parents.

You do not need to be a parent to be horrified by The Ecology Center’s report. Not only are car seat manufacturers creating defective products, they are advertising them as safe and secure for children – the exact opposite of what appears to be the truth, and a particularly heinous form of false advertising.

If you purchased an unsafe car seat based on false advertising, potentially putting yourself and your child at risk for long-term health problems, we invite you to contact Jonathan Nace of the Washington, D.C. law firm of Paulson & Nace, PLLC, to learn more about your rights.