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Contributors
Barbara F. Meltz writes the Globe's Child Caring column. She is author of "Put Yourself in Their Shoes, Understanding How Your Children See the World," and a frequent speaker to parent groups. Join her chat on the first and third Monday of the month at noon.
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« Raise your hand if your kid's perfect... | Main | More on toxicity in car seats » Wednesday, May 16, 2007Is your child's car seat poisonous?
Looks like it's not enough to know that your child's car seat scored well on crash tests. Research released today shows that some car seats are made with chemicals that can pose health risks. The chemicals have been linked to such health problems as liver, thyroid and developmental problems. Babies are at the greatest risk to exposure to chemical-laden dust and inhaling toxic fumes because their systems are developing. The Ecology Center, an Ann Arbor based nonprofit established in 1970, tested more than 60 new infant, convertible and booster car seats. The two safest infant seats in terms of chemical composition are the Graco SnugRide Emerson and the Evenflo Discovery Infant Churchill. The two that scored the worst are the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Toffee and the Combi Centre EX Mango. Using a portable x-ray devise which identifies the elemental composition of any material, the Ecology Center tested more than 60 new infant, convertible and booster car seats. Some of the worst ones, it said, are "saturated" in toxic chemicals while others are "virtually free of the most dangerous chemicals." Among covertible car seats, those rated safest were the Costco Scenara 5-Point; the Eddie Bauer 3 in 1 convertible Montecito and the Eddie Bauer Deluxe Conversion Hampton; the Graco Toddler SafeSeat (step 2); and Safety 1st Alpha Sport. Those rated the worst were the Coscto Alpha Omega Elite, and the Britax Marathon Platinum. Among the booster seats, the best scoring went to Evenflo Big Kid No-Back Gold Dust model; the Britax Parkway Express, and the Eddie Bauer Summit Booster Astoria. The seats rated the worst in the booster category were Graco's TurboBooster SafeSeat (step 3) Glory; Graco TurboBooster Emily; and Graco TurboBooster SafeSeat (step 3) Athens. Search for your car seat by model or comparison shop between different models at healthycar.org. Posted by Barbara Meltz at 11:55 AM
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