I don't know about you, but the idea of diesel particulates (soot) lodging themselves on my brain doesn't sit well with me. While scientists and researchers have known for some time that diesel soot clings to our grey matter, just recently Dutch scientists were able to convince 10 people to sit in a room filled with diesel exhaust so that they could monitor their brain waves. Not surprisingly, their brains showed signs of "stress" just thirty minutes into this operation. We're not going to argue with these results... in fact we thought it was just common knowledge that breathing exhaust fumes, whether from either gas or diesel burning cars, was a bad idea. Ah well, at least we now have scientific data on the topic.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

Some weeks ago we posted an article about a German university comparing the fumes produced from both a diesel-powered engine and one fuelled by Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) which showed that diesel fumes were more dangerous. In the end, however, the study affirmed that it depended more on the engine tuning than the fuel itself.

Nevertheless, a new study shows that that diesel exhaust is far more damaging to our health than exhaust from biodiesel. The research, made by a team from Deakin University's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and at the Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Victoria University (Australia), exposed cultured human airway cells to both fumes and studied the effects.

The worst effect came from the particullates that diesels emit. Whereas biodiesel also produces particullates, the latter were less dangerous. According to Prof. Leigh Ackland, head of the study, "Our research found that the particulate matter from diesel exhaust stimulated a 'death pathway' response that the body uses to dispose of damaged cells. This response caused the airway cells to fuse together and die. We saw hardly any cell death after treatment with biodiesel particulates"

Then she concludes: "It is clear that breathing in diesel fumes is going to have a far more detrimental effect on our health than biodiesel. Given the level of cell death we have found, diesel exhaust could be the cause of respiratory disorders such as asthma and could even be implicated in cancer."

[Source: Nature via Biopact, thanks to William for the tip]

Diesel engines are quite popular in Europe, but this bit of news will send shivers down the lungs of people throughout the area. Scottish scientists working at Edinburgh University identified diesel exhaust soot particles as the chief culprits in 9,000 fatal heart attacks a year across the United Kingdom. The team of scientists discovered how soot particles move from the lungs into the blood stream, where they can do massive damage. It's not just pedestrians and bike riders who are at risk, said Professor Ken Donaldson, a toxicologist who helped lead the research team. Donaldson told the News Scotsman that, "These particles are so small they pass quite easily through face masks that people often wear to protect themselves from traffic fumes. Ironically drivers themselves might be most at risk if they are stuck in traffic, as the exhaust fumes from the car in front are drawn directly into their own cars."

Diesel emission laws in Europe will force car makers to install filters on diesel engines that should reduce particulate emissions by 80 percent starting in 2008, but it is unclear if these filters will eliminate the particulates the researchers found to be to most damaging to people. The number of diesel engines in Europe has increased dramatically in recent years as gas prices climbed upwards. In the U.K. alone, the number of diesel cars grew from 1.6 million in 1994 to over 5 million today. The researchers did not report on how or if using biodiesel would reduce dangerous emissions levels, although everyone agrees the biofuel burns cleaner than standard diesel.

[Source: News Scotsman, Thanks to Steve Brezina]