Peter may I expand a bit on your comments? In the car business the issue you quote is called Plasticizer Migration. Various chemicals are added to plastics to make them easier to mold and to retain some flexibility after molding. With time and exposure to Ultra Violet rays from the sun, the plasticizers move out of the material and the base material becomes brittle and often changes color. As a new car ages you get that nasty film on the front windows. That film is plasticizers from the plastic trim in the vehicle and in time the dash panel et. al. will crack.