Abstract: Air bag inflators having reduced risk of premature deployment, reduced risk of chemical and thermal burning of the driver, and reduced toxicity are obtained by using a non-sodium azide containing gas generating composition. The gas generating compositions include lithium, potassium and sodium perchlorates, optionally with a nitride or non-halogenated polymer or both, styrene peroxides, polystyrene peroxides, zinc peroxide in hydrated form, iron oxalate hydrazinate, and iron nitrate hydrazinate. A gas generating composition containing copper nitride, sodium perchlorate, and polyester is especially preferred because the resulting gas is compositionally the same as air.