World Health Organization condemns diesel exhaust as Class 1 carcinogen

News flash: Diesel exhaust is bad for you, particularly if you're a miner.

Following eight days of deliberation, the World Health Organization's cancer-research board has named diesel exhaust a Class 1 carcinogen. The finding puts the fuel in the same category as asbestos.

Unfortunately, as shopautoweek.com explains, the WHO findings are mainly based on decades-old environmental studies and don't take recent “clean-diesel” technology into account. Instead, the organization examined the impact of the exhaust on miners, who are exposed to occupational levels of diesel particulates in tightly enclosed spaces.

We're sticking by our fondness for diesels; you can read the full response at shopautoweek.com here.

By Graham Kozak