Hey all, I just read this article on the Associated Press. Just thought I would pass it along. And I was only worried about 2nd hand smoke and going blind from......):h I think the environmentalists need to focus on other issues!!



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U.S. National - AP
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class=article width=420>http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/p/ap120a.gif (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/brand/SIG=br2v03/*http://www.ap.org) Study: Diesel Exhaust Blamed for Deaths

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<!-- TextStart -->By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Emissions from old diesel engines cause more than 20,000 Americans a year to die sooner than they would have otherwise, an environmental group estimated Tuesday.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="1%" align=left border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="99%"><!-- ult --><!-- start 2005 02/22 19:02 expire 2005 03/01 19:03 --><CENTER><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=150 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=sectiontitles><CENTER>Related Links</CENTER></TD></TR><TR align=middle><TD class=leftcolumnmain><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD width="1%">•</TD><TD width="99%">Worst Cities, States for Diesel Exhaust (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=7&u=/ap/20050222/ap_on_re_us/dirty_diesel_glance_1) (AP)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER></TD><TD width=5> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

An industry group criticized the findings as outdated and misleading.



The metropolitan areas with the highest number of early deaths from diesel engines were New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, according to the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force. The study included the surrounding suburbs, so New York's estimated total of 2,729 deaths included parts of New Jersey and Connecticut.



The states with the most deaths were New York with 2,332, California with 1,784, and Pennsylvania with 1,170, according to the group.



The group said it based its figures on the most recent government emissions data — from 1999 — and from public health studies of the effects of various types of air pollutants.



Conrad Schneider, co-author of the report, said regulations designed to make new diesel engines cleaner don't affect millions of older trucks, buses and construction engines.



"Those are great rules, they will hold new engines to higher standards. ... In the meantime, we're stuck with a legacy of dirty diesel engines," said Schneider, advocacy director for the Clean Air Task Force, a coalition of regional and local groups.



The Environmental Protection Agency (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/ap/ap_on_re_us/dirty_diesel/14375572/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Environmental%20Protection%20Agency%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw) - web sites (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/manual/ap/ap_on_re_us/dirty_diesel/14375572/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=web-storylinks&p=Environmental%20Protection%20Agency)) last year required new diesel engines on trucks and buses to cut in half the amount of nitrogen oxides produced. In 2007 emissions are to be cut further.



Since many older diesel engines can run for 30 years, more action is needed by federal, state, and local governments to retrofit existing diesel engines to run more cleanly, the group said.



Retrofits for a typical transit bus can cost about $5,000 to $7,000.



The head of a Washington-based industry group criticized the report's assumptions and conclusions.



"I think they have overstated the risk here using data that's six years old," said Allan Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum.



Schaeffer said it takes eight modern tractor trailer engines to produce the same amount of pollution generated by one such engine made twelve years ago, and that diesel exhaust comprises just 4.4 percent of fine particle pollution.



"Our industry is getting cleaner faster than most other industries out there," Schaeffer said.



Diesel pollution is blamed for contributing to asthma, respiratory diseases, and heart attacks. The study estimates the risk of health complications from diesel exhaust for people living in cities is three times higher than the risk for those in rural areas. ___

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There is a lot of truth to the fact that the diesel engine of today has greatly cleaned up its act as far as pollution compared to the black belching diesel engines of old, with the possible exception of some of you who think it is cool to blow gobs of black smoke (unburned fuel) out your tailpipe. After 100,000 or so miles, the worst offenders of the dreaded black smoke were Fords in the 80's and 90's. Both Cummins Dodge and GM never had a huge smoking problem although GM had a lot of injection pump problems. If you really want to see a terrible health problem, go to Guatemala City where everything runs on diesel and the entire transportation system is diesel bus and truck (not a running train in the country - 2 burned up ones in the Guatemala City burned out roundhouse for several years), all which belch huge amounts of black smoke and particulates all day long. Creates a black cloud over the city of 5,000,000 and makes breathing very difficult. Rebuilding injectors and injection pumps would go a long way for clean air both there and here.

I have noticed my diesel engine giving me problems with my breathing. Everytime I get down hard on the pedal and the truck takes off like a raped ape... I get short of breath and my heart starts to race. Glad to know it's the diesel fumes that are causing it...

:sheephump

:muahaha:

lol

I'm not a fan of air pollution, but someone should seriously call them out on their "facts".

If 4% of the emissions are causing that many deaths today, then we are losing 500,000 lives a year to air pollution? So in 1970, we should have lost MILLIONS of lives a year to air pollution?

SOmebody is playing with the numbers.

So I guess I should quit getting down next to the exhaust and inhaling like I love to do?

I figure that since I don't smoke cigarettes, a cigar now and again along with diesel fumes shouldn't significantly reduce my lifespan.

And if they do, so be it! God damn I love diesel smoke!!!

People ask why I want to drive a lifted diesel pickup. "Two reasons," I say. "Diesel in any form smells awesome, and lifting a pickup takes me that much closer to God."

Like diesels are the real problem. People should look at the real problems and try and fix those. Like smoking, drugs, etc...

Green people have to have something to gripe about in order to keep the donations comming in. Might be satisfied when we all get back to living in caves.

A bunch of gasoline sniffing, propane gas huffing, fuel cell riding, gas/electric hybrid owners, probably wrote that stinking article. They fail to mention that volcanic erruptions create more deadly toxins and polution in the air than all of industralized man ever did.

They fail to mention that volcanic erruptions create more deadly toxins and polution in the air than all of industralized man ever did. ..not to mention forest fires, i don't even want to know how much crap was/and still is in the skies from the Hayman fire in Colorado a couple years back, or really any forest fire, but those tree huggin' hippies conveniently leave out everything that their precious mother nature does to the world.

Yes the world is important, yes we should do what we can to make resources last, but also be reasonable and look at the entire picture, not just a corner of it.

Word!!!

I believe there is some truth to your report. However 150,000 people die annually from lung cancer due to tobacco(not necessary, travelling is), 400,000 total with all other diseases associated with tobacco smoke.
The upcoming uls diesel along with epa current plans will lower diesel emissions on particulates to levels at a par with gasoline engines. I welcome lowering pollution levels and cleaning up diesel.
I don't want my daughters to get cancer as well as anyone elses. All travel causes pollution, even walking. I do complain because the powers that be look harder at things that are necessary in life (driving) and less at things that are not(smoking, drinking and driving, omitting others that may be politically incorrect).

autopsies are done every day,Iam sure they can just open you up and say yep,he died of deisel smoke..thats it thats all....yea right!!!!!!give me a break!!!!!

So we all friggin die with smiles on our faces....so the heck what. ):h

Theres always someone..............:eyecrazy:


Tom :pig:

won't offend me spence :D fire away with your political incorrectness! And you're absolutely right, with the one that were "PC"