Wednesday 30th May 2012

Airbag poisons driver

Freak accident reveals the toxic chemicals lurking in your dashboard

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The chemicals in your airbag can kill. That was the verdict from the South Tyneside Coroner, who concluded a motorist died after inhaling toxic substances from a split airbag. The unfortunate driver, engineer Ronald Smith from near Sunderland, got caught up in a six-car shunt near Hartlepool in November 2010. The airbag went off and immediately punctured after the window in his Vauxhall Insignia smashed in the accident.

He survived the crash, but died in January 2011 after being taken to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath. The cause of death was bronchial pneumonia, with the forensic pathologist saying his lungs showed signs of infection.

Coroner Terence Carneyblamed the airbag. “This man died as a result of this incident and more pointedly because of the explosion of his airbag.”

So what’s in an airbag that makes it so toxic? His widow June told the Daily Record that Smith had been shocked by the amount of white powder released by the bag. “He said there was so much of it he couldn’t see,” she said.

Airbags rapidly inflate with gas created by igniting a chemical called sodium azide. About a handful this white crystalline powder is needed to inflate a big airbag, and is extremely toxic.

So toxic that the effects of ingesting it have been compared to cyanide. In a book by US crime writer JA Jance, the murderer rips apart cars in a scrap yard to get the killer substance, which is also used to make pesticide.

We asked UK automotive safety organisation Thatcham about the potential problems airbag chemicals could inflict. Miniscule, they reckoned. “The danger of inhalation is extremely small,” said a spokesman.

They did say however that the chemical originally used before this, nitrocellulose, was even more toxic and also highly flammable.

Smith was about as unlucky as you can get, but with up to nine airbags fitted to newer cars, it makes you wonder just how much of this deadly stuff we transport on a daily basis.

[Baryonyx]

And they say an airbag warning light is an MOT failure...! Sounds more like a safety feature!

[mph999]

Very sad when deaths occur such as this, but the number of lives saved by airbags far outweighs the number of deaths.

Still - perhaps they can find something less harmful to use ...

M

[Manicminer]

I always thought the white powder was talc to stop the fabric of the bag from sticking together when packed.

On a side note, I remember the airbag system on my old Fiat Coupe had a life of 12 years after which you were supposed to replace them. Is this a side effect of age or was it a newish car this poor chap was driving?

[reggie82]

I love that they have used a character in a fictional book as a reference of how dangerous it is hahaha

[rb5er]

Vauxhall Insignia is a recent car

[nsa]

I didn't realise this site had turned into the Daily Mail. I'm sure I read that this is the only recorded death like this in the UK.

[countvonc]

reggie82 said:

I love that they have used a character in a fictional book as a reference of how dangerous it is hahaha

Well the character may be fictional, but I think that the book does exist.

[Manicminer]

rb5er said:

Vauxhall Insignia is a recent car

Yep, skimmed past that bit

[The Wookie]

To be fair, there are lot's of horrible, dangerous substances knocking about on the average car. Does sound like a very bizarre set of circumstances though...

Presumably now it's happened once there will be more of an awareness of the potential for this from emergency crews and medical staff, assuming there's a treatment for exposure.

[C8H18Head]

Volvo are working on this - "Safety EPS". I visited their crash testing facility in Stockholm at Easter and sneakily saw the test rigs.

It's a foam pellet generator, similar to the packing variety found in boxes. Outlets are positioned throughout the vehicle and expanded polystyrene (EPS) pellets are generated at a rate of 4 sq.m. per second upto 3 seconds with the first pellet generated, I believe, in 1/20th of a second.

Unlike airbags, it contains no poisonous substances and prevents injuries in rollovers and "long time" accidents (the EPS beads create a permanent protective barrier).

Sneaky mobile photo:

Edited by C8H18Head on Wednesday 30th May 11:34

[nsa]

C8H18Head said:

Volvo are working on this - "Safety EPS". I visited their crash testing facility in Stockholm at Easter and sneakily saw the test rigs.

It's a foam pellet generator, similar to the packing variety found in boxes. Outlets are positioned throughout the vehicle and expanded polystyrene (EPS) pellets are generated at a rate of 4 sq.m. per second upto 3 seconds with the first pellet generated, I believe, in 1/20th of a second.

Unlike airbags, it contains no poisonous substances and prevents accidents in rollovers and "long time" accidents (the EPS beads create a permanent protective barrier).

Sneaky mobile photo:

I am going to take a punt without Googling it and say this is a (good) joke.

[CoolC]

Strange that they refer to the airbag splitting, as all airbags have big holes in them anyway.

The airbag inflates and then imediately deflates because of these holes, that's how they work.

All the gasses contained within an airbag deployment end up in the cabin of the car every time.

[The Wookie]

nsa said:

C8H18Head said:

Volvo are working on this - "Safety EPS". I visited their crash testing facility in Stockholm at Easter and sneakily saw the test rigs.

It's a foam pellet generator, similar to the packing variety found in boxes. Outlets are positioned throughout the vehicle and expanded polystyrene (EPS) pellets are generated at a rate of 4 sq.m. per second upto 3 seconds with the first pellet generated, I believe, in 1/20th of a second.

Unlike airbags, it contains no poisonous substances and prevents accidents in rollovers and "long time" accidents (the EPS beads create a permanent protective barrier).

Sneaky mobile photo:

I am going to take a punt without Googling it and say this is a (good) joke.

This sounds too similar to the Demolition Man 'Safety Foam' to be real

ETA - Judging bt the fact that it's a Range Rover in the shot, I'm also guessing it's a joke

Edited by The Wookie on Wednesday 30th May 12:09

[keith2.2]

Odd that Volvo would use a RangeRover as a test rig... lol

[Mr2Mike]

C8H18Head said:

Volvo are working on this - "Safety EPS". I visited their crash testing facility in Stockholm at Easter and sneakily saw the test rigs.

It's a foam pellet generator, similar to the packing variety found in boxes. Outlets are positioned throughout the vehicle and expanded polystyrene (EPS) pellets are generated at a rate of 4 sq.m. per second upto 3 seconds with the first pellet generated, I believe, in 1/20th of a second.

Unlike airbags, it contains no poisonous substances and prevents injuries in rollovers and "long time" accidents (the EPS beads create a permanent protective barrier).

Sneaky mobile photo:

Edited by C8H18Head on Wednesday 30th May 11:34

Sounds a bit like the car in "Demolition Man". I think I'd rather take my chances with an air bag rather than be potentially suffocated if you are unable to open the doors/windows.

[nickboazracing]

CoolC said:

All the gasses contained within an airbag deployment end up in the cabin of the car every time.

yeah, that's what I thought..

It is worrying, but then this does appear to be an isolated case. And in addition it is worth noting the story does not state whether the victim had a previous underlying condition that may have been a contributing factor. Just a thought.

[otolith]

Sodium azide is acutely toxic by the same mechanism as cyanide - it inhibits one of the enzymes in the electron transport chain, shutting down the process by which living cells generate energy.

I'm not a medic, but I don't think death by pneumonia two months after exposure is consistent with azide poisoning - it sounds more consistent with aspiration pneumonia from inhaling talc.

[VR6 Turbo]

is this chemical inert after its been combusted? maybe it didn't completely burn due to the rip? . as I also thought air bag's deflated afterwards.

still terrible for this poor chap and his family.

VR

[mrmr96]

C8H18Head said:

Volvo are working on this - "Safety EPS". I visited their crash testing facility in Stockholm at Easter and sneakily saw the test rigs.

It's a foam pellet generator, similar to the packing variety found in boxes. Outlets are positioned throughout the vehicle and expanded polystyrene (EPS) pellets are generated at a rate of 4 sq.m. per second upto 3 seconds with the first pellet generated, I believe, in 1/20th of a second.

Unlike airbags, it contains no poisonous substances and prevents injuries in rollovers and "long time" accidents (the EPS beads create a permanent protective barrier).

Sneaky mobile photo:

Edited by C8H18Head on Wednesday 30th May 11:34

That deployment would be FAR too slow to be of any use, unless it was somehow trigged WAY IN ADVANCE of the first impact.

[ArosaMike]

nsa said:

I didn't realise this site had turned into the Daily Mail. I'm sure I read that this is the only recorded death like this in the UK.

Exactly what I was thinking!


Won't somone think of the children!