EPA Says Diesel Exhaust Causes Lung Cancer, September 4, 2002
Inhalation of diesel exhaust emissions is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard to humans, according to an EPA report.
EPA has been engaged in a review of the health effects of diesel exhaust since 1990. Finally, after an exhaustive review of five earlier draft documents, EPA has issued a final version of its “Health Assessment Document for Diesel Engine Exhaust.”
Diesel exhaust is a mixture of hundreds of constitutents in gas and particle form. Diesel exhaust emissions contribute to ambient concentrations of several criteria air pollutants including nitrogen oxides and fine particles. Toxic components include benzene, 1,3-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein.
The EPA health assessment concludes that long-term inhalation exposure is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard to humans. The document falls short of quantitatively defining the cancer risk to humans in terms of a “unit risk” number.
Short-term exposures can cause irritation of the eyes, throat, and lungs, lightheadedness, nausea, cough, and phlegm. There is also evidence for exacerbation of existing allergies and asthma symptoms. The assessment establishes a reference concentration (RfC) for diesel exhaust of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
EPA [www.epa.gov/ncea] offers the document online.
