Bob CollinsThere are days when it seems every other vehicle on the road is a semi-trailer truck. The economy is picking up and things are on the move.
Trucking firms are having a difficult time hiring enough truckers, even though it’s steady work. It also could shorten your lifespan, the World Health Organization said today. So can any job, around diesel fuel.
The WHO today added diesel exhaust as a definite cause of cancer. Diesel exhausts are now in the same group as carcinogens ranging from wood chippings to plutonium and sunlight to alcohol, the BBC reports.
It is thought people working in at-risk industries have about a 40% increased risk of developing lung cancer.
Dr Christopher Portier, who led the assessment, said: “The scientific evidence was compelling and the Working Group’s conclusion was unanimous, diesel engine exhaust causes lung cancer in humans.
“Given the additional health impacts from diesel particulates, exposure to this mixture of chemicals should be reduced worldwide.”
The impact on the wider population, which is exposed to diesel fumes at much lower levels and for shorter periods of time, is also unknown.
If you’ve ever been behind a belching truck and started gasping for air, you can made an educated guess, however.
In 1989, the International Agency for Research on Cancer said diesel exhaust was “probably” a human carcinogen.
