Former Workers: Airbag Maker Knew Of Danger In 2004, Did Nothing

Former Workers: Airbag Maker Conducted Secret Tests In 2004 But Hid Dangers They Found
AUBURN HILLS, MI - AUGUST 19: A crash-test dummy sits in a testing sled at Takata's current crash-testing facility August 19, 2010 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Takata dedicated a new, high-tech 18,000 square-foot sled crash simulation facility today that cost $14.6 million and is expected to be built and operational by August of 2011. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - AUGUST 19: A crash-test dummy sits in a testing sled at Takata's current crash-testing facility August 19, 2010 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Takata dedicated a new, high-tech 18,000 square-foot sled crash simulation facility today that cost $14.6 million and is expected to be built and operational by August of 2011. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Alarmed by a report a decade ago that one of its airbags had ruptured and spewed metal debris at a driver in Alabama, the Japanese manufacturer Takata secretly conducted tests on 50 airbags it retrieved from scrapyards, according to two former employees involved in the tests, one of whom was a senior member of its testing lab.

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