Do not turn on A/C immediately as soon as you enter the car! Please open the windows after you enter your car and do not turn ON the air-conditioning immediately.
According to a research done, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emits Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen- take note of the heated
plastic Smell in your car). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage.
Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft.. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level ... and the people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxins.
It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is very difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.
Origins: This item about the dangers of benzene supposedly emitted by automobile components has been widely misunderstood. Many readers have come away from the article with the impression that it warns drivers not to use their cars' air conditioning because the A/C system itself is producing benzene, but what the article actually cautions against is the practice of turning on the air conditioning immediately upon entering an automobile. Motorists should instead, it says, roll down their windows in order to allow accumulated benzene fumes (allegedly emitted by other components, such as dashboards and upholstery) to vent from the car first before closing the windows and turning on the A/C.
How much truth is there to this warning? Evidence suggests an association between exposure to benzene and an excess risk of leukemia, as noted by the American Cancer Society (ACS):
A considerable number of human studies provide evidence linking benzene and cancer. Initially, increased risks of leukemia, chiefly AML, were reported among workers with high levels of benzene exposure in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries. More recently, studies have focused on workers with relatively lower exposure.
The human data are supported by animal studies. There is sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of benzene in experimental animals. Key animal studies support the finding of an excess risk of leukemia in humans from exposure to benzene by inhalation and ingestion. The details of these studies have been reviewed and found to support the association between benzene and cancer.
But do automobiles really produce potentially cancer-causing levels of benzene? A 2001 study of commuter exposure (in both cars and buses) in Korean urban areas found some relationship between automobile use and exposure to benzene, but its observations differed from the warning quoted above in some significant areas:
The study found that traveling by automobile increased exposure to a number of deleterious compounds, including benzene, but the primary factor in this regard was the fuel used by the vehicles, not internal components such as dashboards.
The study found that benzene levels were higher in older cars than newer cars, which suggests that the primary factor in automobile benzene levels is not associated with the "new car smell" emitted by components such as dashboards and upholstery.
The study found that exposure levels were significantly higher during the winter months, which suggests that automobile air conditioning use is not a major factor in benzene exposure.
The study itself did not establish a connection between commuter exposure to benzene and the onset of cancer.
Last updated: 8 June 2009
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/benzene.asp
In brief, the above article says: According to research done by a U.C., the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener will emit Benzene, a cancer causing toxin (carcinogen). In addition to causing cancer, it poisons your bones, causes anemia, and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer. May also cause miscarriage.
Acceptable Benezene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft. A car parked indoors with the windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benezene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benezene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level. The people inside the car will inevitably inhale an excess amount of the toxin.
It is recommended that you open the windows and door to give time for the interior to air out before you enter. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver, and is difficult for your body to expel.
