Despite their intention as a life-saving device in the unfortunate event of a crash, airbags continue to be the source of scrutiny by officials for doing harm to the people they are intended to protect.

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Tecolem.com

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) held a public hearing on Oct. 5 to recommend a recall of more than 50 million airbag inflators that have been linked to explosions that can cause serious or fatal injuries.

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The inflators in question were made by parts suppliers ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive and were included as part of the airbag assemblies installed in cars from 2000 to early 2018 that were made by 12 manufacturers including General

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The hearing was held to consider the public’s input on the decision the NHTSA made in September, where it found that the inflators posed an unreasonable risk to safety.

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Officials from the agency said that the issue is caused by debris left in inflators during manufacturing that can become loose and cause a rupture.

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In May 2023, General Motors agreed to recall nearly one million vehicles with ARC airbag inflators after a reported rupture in March resulted in facial injuries to the driver of one of its vehicles.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, the number of GM-made vehicles in the recall population could be closer to 20 million.

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