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Air Bags Performing Well, Saving Lives

14 April 2000

Air Bags Performing Well, Saving Lives, Says Automotive Occupant Restraint Council

    WASHINGTON, April 14 In the nearly 30 years since
automotive air bags were first installed in the nation's passenger cars, more
than 4,000 lives have been saved with no reported environmental damage caused
by the chemicals used in bag inflators, according to the Automotive Occupant
Restraint Council (AORC).
    The Council says that some, but not all air bags use toxic compounds such
as sodium azide as an ingredient in the pyrotechnic that inflates a bag in the
event of a crash.  In its "ready use" state, contained in a sealed canister
stored in a vehicle's air bag compartment, sodium azide does not present a
health hazard to drivers, passengers or the environment.
    As these cars, light trucks and vans enter the end-of-life recycling
process, care should be taken to prevent source pyrotechnic substances from
being released into the environment through rupture of metal canisters such as
could occur during the vehicle shredding process.  This can be most easily
accomplished by deploying the air bags thereby consuming the gas producing
chemicals when a vehicle reaches its end-of-life destination.
    "We fully support the proper use and disposal of automotive air bags when
motor vehicles reach the end of their useful lives and are dismantled for
parts or scrapped," said George Kirchoff, AORC president.
    "This protects the environment from potential harm and also prevents the
reuse of air bag units that would cause potential for risk to occupants if
reinstalled in another vehicle."
    "I cannot think of circumstances in which AORC would support replacing
deployed air bags with salvaged or remanufactured bags.  This is a safety
issue.  All restraint systems, including air bags, are designed and
manufactured to very distinct requirements that are vehicle specific.  That
is, they depend on the characteristics of a particular vehicle make, model,
and model year.
    "In support of this policy AORC member companies have worked with
automotive manufacturers and vehicle recyclers to develop and distribute
educational information to promote the safe and environmentally sound
deployment of end-of-life air bags," Kirchoff said.
    AORC is a nonprofit organization representing domestic and foreign
manufacturers and suppliers of automotive air bags, seat belts and vehicle
seating systems.