Design, chemistry, weather behind Takata ruptures

Chicago

RESEARCHERS hired by a coalition of carmakers found that moisture - seeping from the environment into the inflator and not dried by a chemical - is the reason why Takata Corp airbags rupture and spray shards of metal and plastic at motorists.

The findings from Orbital ATK, a Dulles, Virginia-based company that makes rocket-propulsion systems, will be used by government regulators to determine how many vehicles equipped with Takata airbags need to be recalled. Determining the root cause of Takata's inflator ruptures also has held carmakers and the supplier back from deciding how recall costs should be shared.

All three of the conditions outlined in the statement - poor design, lack of water-absorbing chemicals and high atmospheric temperatures with wide ranges - have to be present for the airbag inflators to be at risk of rupture, said David Kelly, a former acting …