Article snippet: Takata has added an additional 2.7 million airbags to the nation’s largest automobile industry recall after a new hazard was detected in testing. The company told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday that a subset of its airbag inflaters — ones that rely on calcium sulfate to keep them dry — can, like other versions, rupture while deploying the bags, hurling metal shards into vehicles. Ford, Mazda and Nissan installed these inflaters in vehicles manufactured for the United States market from 2005 through 2012, according to Takata, of Japan. All are on the driver’s side of the vehicles. The recall adds to an effort that was previously expected to cover 70 million Takata airbag inflaters in 42 million vehicles. Takata’s problems with defective devices began in 2008, when Honda initially recalled 4,000 vehicles that used Takata technology. So far, the safety agency says, about 17 million airbags have been replaced in the United States. The deaths of at least 17 people worldwide, including 12 in the United States, have been linked to Takata inflaters. On Monday, Honda said a person in Florida died last summer after a Takata inflater ruptured in a parked 2001 Accord during an attempt to make an unspecified repair with a hammer. Takata and the safety agency said they knew of no ruptures related to the hazard that prompted the latest recall. Exposure to moisture and temperature fluctuations can degrade the propellant, which contains ammonium nitr... Link to the full article to read more