Fiery crash magnifies risks with inflators: Dealership service techs learn to deal with the dangers

摘要

Every day at auto dealerships around the country, service technicians dealing with the massive Takata airbag recall are taking pintsized explosives into their hands. Replacing the airbag inflators is delicate work. The canisters are filled with ammonium nitrate, the same chemical. Timothy McVeigh used to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City. Workers must put each canister in a device vised onto a table that provides some protection in case of explosion. They need to make sure there's nothing loose within three feet of the back of the device and two feet on the sides that could become a projectile.