--- title: Car Seat Safety: Hazardous Chemicals Can Damage Child Health description: Many car seats sold in the U.S. still contain toxic chemicals though manufacturers have removed some of the most damaging chemicals canonical: https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-13T20:58:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:17:01.894Z article:section: Health og:title: Your Child's Car Seat May Have Hazardous Chemicals og:description: But some manufacturers have improved their practices og:url: https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Your Child's Car Seat May Have Hazardous Chemicals twitter:description: But some manufacturers have improved their practices twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Your Child's Car Seat May Have Hazardous Chemicals > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 13, 2016 8:58 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 13, 2016 8:58 PM UTC Many [car seats ](https://time.com/shopping/article/best-toddler-car-seat/)sold in the U.S. still contain toxic chemicals though manufacturers have removed some of the most damaging, according to a new [report](https://www.ecocenter.org/healthy-stuff/pages/childrens-car-seat-study-2016-report). Researchers behind the report, published by the non-profit education group The Ecology Center, found [toxic chemicals](http://time.com/4533595/household-chemicals-bpa-health/) in all 15 cars seats from a variety of brands. The chemicals, which are placed in the seats to act as flame retardants, include materials [known to cause cancer](http://time.com/95915/breast-cancer-chemicals/), disrupt hormone functioning and harm child development, according to the report. But despite the alarming news, the report shows that car seat manufacturers have made progress eliminating the worst chemicals. For the first time since the group began testing car seats a decade ago, no car seat contained [lead](http://time.com/3845837/baltimore-lead-contamination/), a chemical with well-documented developmental effects, or chlorinated tris, a chemical thought to have cancer-causing effects. The brands tested include BabyTrend, Britax, Chicco, Clek, Cosco, Diono, Evenflo, Joie, Maxi-Cosi, Nuna, Orbit, Recaro, Safety 1st and two Graco models. **Read More:** [That Plastic Container You Microwave In Could Be Super-Toxic](http://time.com/4229503/plastic-in-microwave-is-it-safe/) “It is essential that parents put their kids in properly installed car seats, which provide vital crash protection, regardless of chemical hazard,” says Jeff Gearhart, Ecology Center research director, in a press release. “However, there are some seats that are healthier than others in terms of toxic chemical content.” **Read More:** [Your Household Dust May Be Filled With These Hazardous Chemicals](http://time.com/4493689/toxic-chemicals-house-cancer/) Federal regulations require car seat manufacturers to comply with flammability standards. Researchers behind the report say that manufacturers can comply with that rule without using hazardous flame retardants, but such alternatives would significantly increase the cost of a car seat. Car seats are just one of many widely-used products including [household furniture](http://time.com/4462892/couch-cancer-flame-retardants/) that contain flame retardants made with toxic chemicals. [Household products](http://time.com/4493689/toxic-chemicals-house-cancer/) also contain a slew of other chemicals that similarly cause cancer and contribute to other developmental issues. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/"},"headline":"Your Child's Car Seat May Have Hazardous Chemicals","datePublished":"2016-12-13T20:58:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:17:01.894Z","description":"But some manufacturers have improved their practices","url":"https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/","keywords":["toxins","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/toxins/","name":"toxins"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4599309/car-seat-safety-chemicals/","name":"Your Child's Car Seat May Have Hazardous Chemicals"}}]}] ```