Car  manufacturers are set to begin using a new "green" technology  automotive coolant next year. The only problem: in the event of an  engine catching fire...it releases a deadly gas.

Environmentalists  hailed the new coolant, but now studies show there is a downside to the  eco-friendly chemical make-up. The chance of an engine compartment fire  is realitively minute, but the resulting deadly gas from such a fire is  not.

A  new "eco-friendly" car refrigerant expected to become the industry  standard turns into a deadly gas if the vehicle housing it catches fire  and should be shelved, it has been claimed.

However, a German  expert on the compound has warned that it is should be scrapped as it is  much more flammable than the current coolant and when heated above 500C  (932F) releases hydrogen fluoride, a highly toxic gas. Temperatures in  car fires can easily reach twice that heat.

"You have 600g of  this cooling agent per car, which if it burned completely would produce  200g of hydrogen fluoride at a level of concentration that is very high.  For a human just one gram is deadly – either inhaled in gas form,  through the skin or when dissolved in water," warned Prof Andreas  Kornath, an inorganic chemistry professor at Munich University who has  been studying the substance for 20 years.

http://telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9021335/Eco-friendly-car-refrigerant-turns-into-deadly-gas-it-vehicle-catches-fire.html

Question is this an acceptable risk for a more environmentally friendly product?

Granted  the number of engine compartment fires may be less than other dangers,  but if a person is dead within a day of inhaling the gas, is the  trade-off worth that risk?

From the Cornfield, I am unsure if this is an acceptable risk.