Regular readers of our green car news section will be well aware of the effects that vehicles’ external emissions have on the environment. However, what about those internal emissions?

On Tuesday, the Ecology Center in the USA will release its second annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars and child car seats. The rankings will be cross referenced with fuel efficiency to give consumers insight into both healthy and fuel efficient cars.

However, for us here in the UK the findings will offer an interesting insight into the sort of odours that can threaten us as we endure our daily commutes.

For example, according to last year’s consumer guide, the famous ‘new car smell’ could be a combination of everything from bromine and chlorine to lead and other harmful chemicals that have been linked to birth defects, liver toxicity, premature births and impaired learning.

To the reassurance of drivers, the Green Optimistic contacted the Ecology Center ahead of the release of this year’s statistics and research director Jeff Gearhart reported there had been a “significant improvement” in the chemicals used by American manufacturers in their latest brands.

Nevertheless, he also commented that some vehicles “still have significant use of chemicals we are concerned about” and he believes some manufacturers have “fallen asleep” when it comes to addressing these concerns.

How worried are you about the odours in your car? Leave a comment with your thoughts.