More than 125,000 Americans may get cancer from breathing diesel fumes from buses, trucks and other diesel engines, says a new analysis by state and local clean air regulators. The officials are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is planning to release new restrictions on sulfur in diesel fuel within two months, to take strong action to address this health risk. The EPA proposal is still under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget. Calling diesel emissions an important health hazard, the EPA has announced it will release a new rule by the end of April requiring sharp cuts in the amount of sulfur allowed in diesel fuel.
Diesel engines are significant contributors to air pollution.
The hazardous mixture that comprises diesel exhaust contains hundreds of different chemical compounds that wreak havoc on air quality, playing a role in ozone formation, particulate matter, regional haze and acid rain. Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 chemicals that are listed by the EPA as toxic air contaminants, known or probably human carcinogens, reproductive toxins or endocrine disrupters. But even worse, these fumes are putting us at risk of cancer - a risk that can be almost completely eliminated with modern pollution controls. Last fall, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which sets air standards for the Los Angeles, California region, released a report analyzing the cancer risk in the region from exposure to diesel particulates. The agency concluded that mobile sources are responsible for about 90 percent of the cancer risk in the area, and that 70 percent of the total cancer risk is attributable to diesel particulates.