Gov't safety head: Total Takata recall won't make cars safer

DETROIT (AP) — The nation's top auto safety regulator says an immediate recall of all Takata air bags wouldn't provide significant safety benefits and could exceed the government's legal authority.

A recall of all Takata air bag inflators also would strain the network for replacement parts and increase uncertainty for consumers, Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wrote in a letter to a legislator.

Takata's air bag inflators use the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash. But they can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and hurling shrapnel at drivers and passengers. At least 10 people have died worldwide and 139 have been hurt.

"Our ongoing analysis presently finds that an immediate recall of all ammonium nitrate inflators would provide no appreciable safety benefit and would engender significant potential harm," Rosekind wrote in a letter to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.