高田公司承認氣囊安全問題 擴大召回範圍

Takata, the Japanese supplier linked to faulty airbags in millions of cars, widened the scale of potential recalls in the United States on Tuesday to 34 million vehicles.

週二，與數以百萬計的汽車上的問題氣囊有關的日本供應商高田公司(Takata)，把美國市場上可能需要召回的汽車數量擴大到了3400萬輛。

The supplier made the announcement with federal safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which had been prodding the company since late last year to say that the airbags were defective. Takata had fought these demands, even asserting at one point that the agency could not force it to issue a recall.

高田與國家公路交通安全局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)的聯邦安全監管部門共同發出了這項聲明。自去年底以來，安全局一直在敦促高田承認氣囊存在問題。高田始終不願遵從這些要求，甚至一度宣稱安全局無權強迫它召回。

Airbag inflaters made by Takata can explode violently when they deploy, spraying metal fragments into the passenger compartment. Six deaths and more than 100 injuries have been linked to the flaw.

高田生產的氣囊增壓泵在彈出時可能會猛然迸裂，導致金屬碎片飛向車內。該問題被認爲與六人的死亡、100多人的受傷有關。

“From the very beginning, our goal has been simple: a safe airbag in every vehicle,” said Mark R. Rosekind, administrator of the safety agency since December. “The steps we’re taking today represent significant progress toward that goal.”

“從一開始，我們的目標就很簡單：每輛車都配有安全的氣囊，”自12月起擔任安全局局長的馬克·羅斯金德(Mark Rosekind)說。“我們今天採取的舉措，代表着我們朝這個目標邁進了一大步。”

But the agency said it did not have a final breakdown yet of all the makes and models the expanded recall encompasses, and that it will not for several days until it coordinates with automakers. The final number of defective cars may shift downward as more tests are performed, Mr. Rosekind said. He acknowledged that the repairs could take several years to complete, but he said that consumers could still drive their cars in the meantime.

但是，安全局表示，目前尚未最後敲定這次擴大的召回覆蓋的所有汽車品牌和型號，而是需要幾天時間來與汽車生產商進行協調。羅斯金德說，經過更多實驗以後，問題汽車的最終數量可能會減少。他承認，修理工作可能需要幾年時間才能完成，但他表示，與此同時，消費者仍然能夠開車。

“Yes, people need to drive their cars,” Mr. Rosekind said, adding that they should be checking with their dealers often “to ensure it gets replaced as soon as possible.”

“對，人們需要開車，”羅斯金德說。他還表示消費者應該經常與經銷商聯繫，“從而保證能及時得到替換”。

Even now, Takata and automakers continue to search for the root cause of the inflater defect, but it still remains unclear. But in new filings with the safety agency, Takata went further than it had previously in admitting wider, structural problems with its airbag inflaters.

即使是現在，高田和汽車生產商也還在繼續尋找增壓泵問題的根本原因，但仍不清楚問題究竟在哪。不過，在提交給安全局的新備案文件中，高田承認其氣囊增壓泵存在更廣泛的結構性問題，比以前的立場更進了一步。

“Up until now Takata has refused to acknowledge that their airbags are defective,” said Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary. “That changes today.”

“在此之前，高田公司一直拒絕承認旗下的安全氣囊有缺陷，”運輸部部長安東尼·福克斯(Anthony Foxx)說。“這種情況今天發生了改變。”

In its filings, dated Monday, Takata said that the propellant in the airbag inflaters — the explosive material that generates the gases to inflate the airbag — could degrade over time if exposed to high humidity and changes in temperature, making it prone to “over-aggressive combustion.”

在標註日期爲本週一的備案文件中，高田公司稱，氣囊增壓泵裏的推進劑——產生填充安全氣囊的氣體的爆炸物——如果暴露在高溼度和溫度波動的環境中，可能會在一段時間後降解，從而容易發生“過於劇烈的燃燒”。

Former Takata engineers told The New York Times last year that they had raised concerns over a decade ago that the explosive material Takata uses — ammonium nitrate — was sensitive to moisture and temperature swings. But those concerns went unheeded, they said.

曾受聘於高田公司的幾名工程師去年對《紐約時報》說，他們十多年前就提出了對公司使用的爆炸物——硝酸銨——對溼度和氣溫波動過於敏感的擔憂。但他們稱，這些擔憂沒有引起重視。

Takata’s patents also document how the company’s engineers for years struggled to stabilize the ammonium nitrate in its propellant.

高田公司的專利文件的記錄還顯示，他們的工程師多年以來一直難以穩定推進劑裏的硝酸銨。

And for the first time, Takata also acknowledged problems with leaks in its airbag inflaters. Tests had revealed that some of its airbag inflaters were found to have leaks in the seals that are supposed to keep them air tight.

這一回，高田公司還首次承認了氣囊增壓泵的漏氣問題。測試顯示，一些氣囊的增壓泵的密封墊有漏氣現象，而這些密封墊本應該把氣體嚴嚴實實地封住。

Last week, a former Takata consultant said that tests he carried out on prototype Takata airbags in the early 2000s showed that they contained leaks. He urged the company to use a different leak testing method, one that he devised, he said, but his advice went unheeded.

上週，高田公司的一名前顧問表示，他在本世紀初對公司的原型安全氣囊進行的測試就顯示，它們存在漏氣現象。他敦促公司使用一種不同的漏氣檢測方法，也就是他設計的方法。但他說，自己的建議沒有被採納。

In February, federal safety regulators began to levy a fine of $14,000 a day against Takata because it had not cooperated fully in the agency’s investigation. The company disputed the claims. With the expansion of the recall, though, regulators said they would suspend that fine, which had reached more than $1 million.

今年2月，聯邦安全監管機構開始對高田公司實施每天1.4萬美元（約合8.6萬元人民幣）的罰款，原因是它沒有充分配合該機構的調查。公司反駁了這些指責。不過，隨着這次召回範圍的擴大，監管機構稱，他們將暫停對高田公司的罰款。這項罰金已累計超過了100萬美元。