Diesel pollution causes deadly diseases

Diesel pollution causes deadly diseases and premature deaths, according to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which has officially listed this killer smoke as a toxic air contaminant (TAC).

CARB placed 40 chemicals in diesel exhaust on California’s list of TACs, saying exposure to such health hazards could increase risk of developing lung cancer and other diseases.

In listing diesel as a TAC, CARB determined that the increased cancer risk from diesel particulates could cause premature deaths in more than 14,000 Californians exposed to diesel pollution over a lifetime.

The same is feared in the Philippines, where studies point to diesel smoke as the cause of 70 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila.

At least 15 percent of the Philippines’ 2.2 million vehicles are public utilities, which are heavily concentrated in Metro Manila and other key cities nationwide.

Numerous scientific studies reportedly link diesel fumes to cancer, the exacerbation of asthma and other respiratory ailments and premature deaths because of their constituent chemicals that are human toxicants, carcinogens and even reproductive hazards.

Ninety-four percent of diesel emissions are estimated to be fine particles that can be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs.

Compared with human hair which is 75 microns in diameter, the fine particles in diesel exhaust are even less than 2.5 microns.

These airborne fine particle concentrations result in increased hospital admissions for respiratory diseases, chronic obstructive lung disease, pneumonia and heart disease.

Long-term and repeated exposures can gravely impair lung function and cause inflammation of the lung lining.

Diesel fumes also contribute substantially to ozone pollution, a powerful respiratory irritant that may lead to shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing, coughing and other respiratory illnesses such as asthma.

Studies have shown that the proximity of a child’s school or home to major roads may be linked to asthma, and the severity of children’s asthmatic symptoms increases with proximity to diesel vehicular traffic.

CARB data indicate that diesel engines statewide are responsible for about 384,345 tons of annual nitrogen oxide pollution and 28,000 tons of particular matter, excluding emissions associated with refining and other steps in the petroleum fuel cycle.

The situation is probably worse in Metro Manila, which is said to be the fourth most polluted city in all of Asia.