Diesel Injury Law

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Why Does Diesel Exhaust Cause Cancer?

Long-term exposures to diesel exhaust can greatly increase your chances of developing cancer and leukemia. Why? Because diesel engine exhaust is a mixture of several toxic substances, including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, unburned and partially burned hydrocarbons (e.g., aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), soot, elemental carbon, particle-bound organic carbon, metals, and nitrated compounds. A number of the toxic substances found in diesel engine exhaust are mutagenic and carcinogenic, and are associated with increasing the risk of causing cancer. Toxic substances found in engine exhausts that have been evaluated for carcinogenicity to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (IARC 2014). These substances have been classified by IARC as Group 1 (the agent is carcinogenic to humans), Group 2A (the agent is probably carcinogenic to humans), and Group 2B (the agent is possibly carcinogenic to humans). See Table 1 for detailed information.

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    So, when you consider that diesel exhaust is composed of a bunch of different known carcinogens, it should come as no surprise that the scientific and medical fields have finally deemed diesel exhaust a carcinogen.

    Table 1
    Toxic Substances Identified in Diesel and Gasoline Engine Exhaust
    and Their Respective IARC Carcinogenic Classifications
    Agent Name CAS No. Classification (Group)
    Metals
    Antimony compounds (Trioxide) 1309-64-4 Group 2B
    Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds 007440-38-2 Group 1
    Beryllium and beryllium compounds 007440-41-7 Group 1
    Cadmium and cadmium compounds 007440-43-9 Group 1
    Chromium (VI) 018540-29-9 Group 1
    Cobalt and cobalt compounds 007440-48-4 Group 2B
    Lead compounds Inorganic Group 2B
    Nickel (Metallic) Group 2B
    Nickel Compounds Group 1
    Organic Chemicals
    1,3-Butadiene 106-99-0 Group 1
    Acetaldehyde 75-07-0 Group 2B
    Benzene 71-43-2 1 Group 1
    Bis(ethylhexyl)phthalate 117-81-7 Group 2B
    Ethylbenzene 100-41-4 Group 2B
    Formaldehyde 50-00-0 Group 1
    Propylene oxide 75-56-9 Group 2B
    Halogenated and Other Chemicals
    Dioxin/Dibenzofurans 1746-01-6 (TCDD)* Group 1
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
    Benz[a]anthracene 56-55-3 Group 2B
    Benzo[b]fluoranthene 205-99-2 Group 2B
    Benzo[k]fluoranthene 207-08-9 Group 2B
    Benzo[a]pyrene 5-32-8 Group 1
    Chrysene 218-01-9 Group 2B
    Dibenz[a,h]anthracene 53-70-3 Group 2A
    3,7-Dinitrofluoranthene 105735-71-5 Group 2B
    3,9-Dinitrofluoranthene 22506-53-2 Group 2B
    1,3-Dinitropyrene 75321-20-9 Group 2B
    1,6-Dinitropyrene 42397-64-8 Group 2B
    1,8-Dinitropyrene 42397-64-9 Group 2B
    Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene 193-39-5 Group 2B
    Naphthalene 91-20-3 Group 2B
    Nitroarenes
    3-Nitrobenzanthrone 17 117-34-9 Group 2B
    6-Nitrochrysene 7496-02-8 Group 2A
    2-Nitrofluorene 607-57-8 Group 2B
    1-Nitropyrene 5522-43-0 Group 2A
    4-Nitropyrene 57835-92-4 Group 2B
    Styrene 100-42-5 Group 2B
    *TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin); Table 2 adapted from Table 1.2 in IARC Monograph 105, 2014

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