glad they finally figured this one out note the very careful wording so exhaust may be beneficial to ones health as long as you have a glass a day with some cheese interesting timing since NUMBER NUMBER truckers just lost their jobs and dont have to worry about death from this anymore adam l duncan beberg URL beberg URL epa diesel exhaust can cause cancer wed sep NUMBER NUMBER NUMBER am et by h josef hebert associated press writer washington ap inhaling diesel exhausts from large trucks and other sources over time can cause cancer in humans an environmental protection agency news web sites report concludes after a decade of study the epa finding released tuesday is expected to buttress the government s push to reduce truck tailpipe emissions by requiring cleaner burning engines and diesel fuel with ultra low sulfur content while acknowledging uncertainties about the long term health effects of exposure to diesel exhausts the epa report said studies involving both animal tests and occupational exposure suggest strong evidence of a cancer risk to humans it is reasonable to presume that the hazard extends to environmental exposure levels as well the report said the potential human health effects of diesel exhausts is persuasive even though assumptions and uncertainties are involved the report mirrors conclusions made previously in documents from various world health agencies and studies in california and is particularly significant because the epa is the federal agency that regulates diesel emissions under the clean air act some environmentalists have raised concerns recently that the bush administration might try to back away from a clinton era regulation that would establish tougher requirements on emissions from large trucks and a separate rule that virtually would eliminate sulfur from diesel fuel epa administrator christie whitman repeatedly has promised to go ahead with the tougher truck and diesel rules last month with white house approval the epa rebuffed attempts by some diesel engine manufacturers to postpone the requirements approving new penalties against manufacturers who fail to meet an october deadline for making cleaner burning truck engines the engine rule does not affect emissions from trucks already on the road although the separate regulation cutting the amount of sulfur in diesel fuel is expected to produce pollution reductions the epa s NUMBER page diesel health assessment did not attempt to estimate the probability of an individual getting cancer given certain exposure to diesel exhaust such a risk assessment is commonly made by the epa when gauging pollution health concerns but in this case the report said the exposure response data are considered too uncertain to produce a confident quantitative estimate of cancer risk to an individual nevertheless said the report the totality of evidence from human animal and other supporting studies suggests that diesel exhaust is likely to be carcinogenic to humans by inhalation and that this hazard applies to environmental exposure the report reiterated that environmental exposure to diesel exhausts poses short term health problems and in the long term has been shown to be a chronic respiratory hazard to humans contributing to increased asthma and other respiratory problems in some urban areas diesel exhausts account for as much as a quarter of the airborne microscopic soot the report said environmentalists welcomed the study as clear evidence that pollution needs to be curtailed not only from large trucks but also from off road diesel powered vehicles epa spokeswoman steffanie bell said the agency expects to publish a rule early next year dealing with those diesel exhaust sources which include farm tractors and construction equipment emily figdor of the u s public interest research group a private environmental organization said to reduce the public s exposure to harmful diesel emissions the bush administration should fully implement clean air standards for diesel trucks and buses and should pass equivalent standards for diesel construction and farm equipment allen schaeffer executive director of the industry group diesel technology forum said the epa s report focused on the past whereas the future is clean diesel diesel trucks and buses built today are more than eight times cleaner than just a dozen years ago the report acknowledged that its findings were based on emissions levels in the mid NUMBERs but said the results continued to be valid because the slow turnover of truck engines has kept many of these vehicles on the road 