Diesel Exhaust Study Raises More Questions

A long-term government study on the effects of diesel exhaust raises more questions about the fuel than answers, say spokesmen for the trucking industry and diesel technology.

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The Environmental Protection Agency said its soon-to-be published diesel health assessment will portray diesel exhaust as a “likely human carcinogen.”

A team of independent scientists, citing a lack of scientific evidence, had rejected 1998 version of the assessment, but signed off on this version on Oct. 13 ("Diesel Emissions-Cancer Link Cited in Revised EPA Report," 11-22-99, p. 5).

The report takes into account health studies done on animals primarily in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and examines studies of workers exposed to diesel exhaust.

For the full story, see the Oct. 23 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.