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Health Assessment Document For Diesel Engine Exhaust (Final 2002)
Citation:
U.S. EPA. Health Assessment Document For Diesel Engine Exhaust (Final 2002). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, Washington Office, Washington, DC, EPA/600/8-90/057F, 2002.
Impact/Purpose:
As new diesel engines with cleaner exhaust emissions replace existing engines, the applicability of the conclusions in this Health Assessment Document will need to be reevaluated.
Description:
This assessment examined information regarding the possible health hazards associated with exposure to diesel engine exhaust (DE), which is a mixture of gases and particles.
The assessment concludes that long-term (i.e., chronic) inhalation exposure is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard to humans, as well as damage the lung in other ways depending on exposure. Short-term (i.e., acute) exposures can cause irritation and inflammatory symptoms of a transient nature, these being highly variable across the population.