Cancer warning for diesel fitters
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• Diesel fitters run a risk of developing cancer, warns The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, and workshops face a huge increase in costs if the Government accepts its findings.
The Royal Commission report has collated previous research into the effects of diesel smoke, including work with mice and rats. Unfiltered diesel fumes were found to increase the incidence of lung cancer by 250%.
The concentrations of diesel smoke that the animals were subjected to can be reached in workshops which are not fitted with extraction equipment, but tobacco smoking by workshop staff masks any general effect on their health.
For its part the I I ealth and Safety Executive (ISE) says it has briefed its inspectors on the hazards of diesel smoke. As part of COSI Ill compliance inspectors will be placing more emphasis on provisions to deal with exhaust fumes from vehicles running in workshops.
The Royal Commission wants to see further research to identify the specific carcinogens in diesel exhaust smoke.
Recommendations in the report include: • "A more fundamental" approach to setting vehicle emission limits; • The adoption of the US engine emission test cycle, but adapted for European driving conditions; • Setting rates of vehicle excise duly which reflect the cleanliness of the engine's emissions; • Government checks on the training and qualifications of personnel maintaining commercial vehicles. This should he done in liaison with the relevant trade associations and include operator staff;
• Engines which are designed not to deteriorate in emission performance by more than a specified amount over an extended period;
• Legislation requiring that engines are kept within emission parameters set by the manufacturers; • The urgent introduction of a strict smoke test with the engine running under load from a rolling road. would