Health Assessment Document for Diesel Emissions (1994)

Note: EPA has updated this document, but this version is provided as a courtesy to the public as a matter of public record.

---

This report on the health effects of diesel combustion emissions, includes a quantitative cancer risk assessment, and a reference concentration (non-cancer) for lifetime exposure; atmospheric concentrations, transport, and transformation; inhalation dosimetry; animal toxicology; mutagenicity; and epidemiology. vidence for the potential carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust in humans is limited; based on recent studies which have indicated a small but significant increased risk of lung cancer in occupationally exposed workers.

In addition to the potential carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust, there has also been some concern that diesel particulate matter (PM) may contribute to other health problems, especially those associated with the respiratory tract. espirable particles such as those in diesel exhaust have been implicated as etiological factors in various types of chronic lung disease. hey may also increase the lung's susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections, aggravate preexisting diseases such as bronchitis or emphysema, or aggravate specific respiratory conditions such as bronchial asthma. There is also some evidence for adverse behavioral and neurological effects. ther components of diesel exhaust, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, acrolein, and sulfuric acid may contribute to some of these potential health effects. Since EPA's initial evaluation of the carcinogenic risks associated with diesel exhaust, additional animal carcinogenicity data have become available.

The purpose of this report is to reevaluate the carcinogenic potency of diesel PM in light of the new data from these animal studies, as well as to reexamine the evidence available from human epidemiological studies.

Citation