More carcinogenic than second-hand smoke – that’s how the World Health Organization recently described diesel fuel emissions.
After a week-long meeting of international experts, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization, classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans. In its press release, the IARC concluded that “diesel exhaust is a cause of lung cancer,” also noting a positive association with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
Dr. Christopher Portier, Chairman of the IARC Working Group, added a recommendation: “Given the additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide.”
In an effort to cut down on exposure, the City of Los Angeles is exploring the use of an electric freight trucking system. Unveiled several months ago at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium, e-Highway uses overhead electrical wires to transmit energy to freight trucks in select traffic lanes.
Tech-manufacturer Siemens pioneered e-Highway, and the Los Angeles Times recently reported that the company is working to implement a pilot project along Interstate 710. The project would truck freight from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which receive more than 40% of U.S.-bound shipping containers, to inland destinations.
With freight on U.S. roads expected to double by 2050, and carbon emissions from freight transportation expected to increase 30% by 2030, e-Highway could help reduce our exposure to toxic diesel fumes.
Web Links
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/13/health/diesel-fumes-cause-lung-cancer-who-says.html?_r=1
http://irna.ir/News/General/WHO,-Diesel-engine-exhaust-carcinogenic/80182080
Photo, taken on June 12, 2007, courtesy of The Tenth Dragon via Flickr.