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When the airbag has gone off, you often see a lot of smoke and stuff and there is a load of dust and powder all over the car
What is this powder and smoke normally (obviously all air bags are different)?
Is this powder normally dangerous/harmful to humans?
Are there any safety precautions I should take if I work with detonated airbags?
According to a couple of sources I read, the substance in the air bags is either cornstarch or talcum powder.
The powdery substance released from the airbag, by the way, is regular cornstarch or talcum powder, which is used by the airbag manufacturers to keep the bags pliable and lubricated while they're in storage.
NOTE: The highlight is theirs.
There shouldn't be any danger from either one of these substances.
There shouldn't be any danger from either one of these substances. -- Unless you happen to have asthma. On rare occasions I've seen it trigger asthma attacks. But mainly, it triggers well-meaning bystanders into yanking injured people out of cars because they think it's smoke and the car is on fire.
Jan 28, 2016 at 0:42