(Image Source: NZ Times )

 

BY LYNDSEY GARZA

 

 

The World Health Organization announced Wednesday — diesel fumes cause lung cancer. HLN has the story.

“Fumes from diesel engines can cause cancer and could be just as dangerous as asbestos, but officials in the mining and trucking industry say some of those studies used old data and new technology cuts down on fumes.”

This is the first time diesel fuel has been elevated to the “known carcinogen” level. Aljazeera says developed countries, like the U.S., require modern diesel engines that aren’t as dangerous — but in developing countries, trucks, generators and machinery fill the streets with pollution.

“For millions of Indians, this is the only way to travel. It’s not just the lack of comfort that is the issue here in New Dehli, it’s also one of the most polluted cities in the world. And as you can see, there is no protection whatsoever from the exposure of dust and air pollution as well.”

The change will make diesel as dangerous as mustard gas and arsenic. The director of the American Cancer Society praises the World Health Organization’s decision, telling The New York Times ...

“I don’t think it’s bad to have a diesel car. I don’t think it’s good to breathe its exhaust. I’m not concerned about people who walk past a diesel vehicle, I’m a little concerned about people like toll collectors, and I’m very concerned about people like miners, who work where exhaust is concentrated.”

The WHO made the decision to elevate diesel’s carcinogenic risk based on a study called Diesel Exhaust in Miners. The study says non smoking miners who are exposed to high levels of diesel fumes are seven times more likely to develop lung cancer than non-miners. CNN notes — the National Mining Association has criticized the study. The association says...

“The recent studies aren’t relevant, because they looked at worker exposures from the 1950s until the 1990s, when older and dirtier equipment was in use.”

Air pollutants have long been a concern for public health, but as a senior health ministry official in India tells the Indian Express — diesel fumes from vehicles can put the “can” in “cancer.”

“The standard argument is that vehicular emissions make up barely 20 per cent of the total air pollution. But a study in California in 2005 showed that an 8-12 per cent share in the total air pollution level could contribute to 70 per cent of cancers.”

The BBC speculates that people who work in industries fueled by diesel have a 40 percent increased risk for developing lung cancer.