Diesel soot from construction equipment is blamed for illnesses and premature deaths.
Dire health effects of pollution reported
By Janet Wilson
Los Angelest Times Staff WriterDecember 6, 2006photo credit: scragz
The effects of air pollution from construction equipment in California are "staggering," according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The report was one of two studies released Tuesday on the severe health hazards of exposure to the soot in diesel emissions.
The second study, by Brigham Young University professor Arden Pope and a team of doctors, found a sharply elevated risk of heart attacks for people with clogged arteries after just a day or two of exposure to diesel soot pollution.
The study was published in Cardiology...
The fine particulate matter that is spewed from diesel engines and tailpipes lodges "like tiny razor blades" deep in human lungs, said Kevin Hamilton, a Fresno-based respiratory therapist who reviewed the findings.
...regulations don't cover existing engines. Anair said an average excavator or tractor can last 20 or 30 years, meaning it could be decades before all the dirty equipment is replaced.
janet.wilson@latimes.com
The construction pollution report can be found online at http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles
The draft regulations can be found at
http://arb.ca.gov/msprog/ordiesel/workshops.htm *
technorati tags:pollution, particulates, soot, exhaust, diesel, california
No comments:
Post a Comment