WHO says diesel
exhaust can definitely cause cancer
CSE says India must
pay heed to the findings and stop state-sponsored
homicide
by allowing use of
diesel
NEW DELHI, June 14,
2012:
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a wing of the World
Health Organization (WHO), has said that diesel engine exhaust can certainly
cause cancer, especially lung cancer in humans. Responding to this shocker from
the WHO, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has asked: “Is India prepared
to respond to the public health risk of diesel?”
This finding comes at
a time when India has failed to adopt a clean diesel road map, prevent use of
under-taxed and under-priced toxic diesel in cars, and reduce its overall
consumption in all sectors. Says Anumita Roychowdhury, head of CSE’s air
pollution control unit: “India must note that this decision has come from a
rigorous review of the latest scientific evidence on the cancer-causing
potential of diesel and petrol exhausts. Evidence on diesel's toxicity has been
mounting over the past 20 years, which has already compelled stringent
regulatory action on diesel quality and emissions standards in other regions of
the world.”
What the IARC has
found
The IARC has
reclassified diesel exhaust and removed it from Group 2A list of probable
carcinogens to its Group 1 list of substances that have definite links to cancer
– thus changing its status to ‘carcinogen’. Diesel exhaust is now in the same
class of deadly carcinogens as asbestos, arsenic or tobacco among
others.
In its release,
IARC-WHO has said that their decision is unanimous and is based on compelling
scientific evidence. The most clinching evidence has come from one of the
largest American studies in March this year by the US National Cancer Institute.
This study has analysed 12,300 miners for several decades starting 1947 and
found that miners heavily exposed to diesel exhaust had a higher risk of dying
from lung cancer.
The IARC-WHO has
urged worldwide efforts to reduce exposure to diesel fumes as much as
possible.
This is certainly a
wake-up call to India which is in the grip of rapid dieselization, says
Roychowdhury. While people are exposed to both motor vehicle exhausts as well as
to exhausts from other diesel engines and uses, there are special concerns over
diesel vehicles as they release emissions within the breathing zone of people.
In a city like Delhi, more than 55 per cent of its 17 million people live within
500 metres of major roads and are directly affected by traffic
emissions.
India trading cancer
for profit
When the Indian auto
industry makes claims of modern diesel engines, it omits to say that health
concerns have driven governments in Europe, the US , Japan
It is extremely
worrying that even after the implementation of the Auto Fuel Policy in 2010
which introduced Bharat Stage III in the country and Bharat Stage IV in 13
cities, the government of India has not set the next target for moving quickly
to Euro VI emissions standards. Therefore, new automobile production and
investments in the country are not even linked to any further commitment to
improving vehicle technology and fuel quality. This will significantly delay
adoption of clean diesel technology in the country and add to the toxic risk. In
fact, by the end of the 12th Plan, the so called modern diesel technology in
India will be 17 years behind Europe!
Even the limited
evidences in India point towards high contribution of diesel fuel combustion in
cities to the formation of tiny killer particles – PM2.5 (particulate matter
less than 2.5 micron in size). A World Bank supported study on source
apportionment of PM2.5 in selected Indian cities, released in 2004, shows that
depending on the season, the contribution of diesel fuel to the total PM2.5
ambient concentration can be as high as 61 per cent in Kolkata, 23 per cent in
Delhi and 25 per cent in Mumbai. Dieselisation will also add to the burden of
particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and ozone -- the key pollutants of concern
in Indian cities. The current emissions standards in India legally allow diesel
cars to emit more particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.
India’s cancer
registry says cancer is taking on an epidemic form that demands immediate action
to cut environmental risks. Perpetrating the use of conventional diesel will add
to this cancer burden. The cancer-causing potential of diesel particulates and
emissions is several times higher than some of the worst known air toxics. For
instance, the number of excess cancer cases per million people per microgramme
per cubic meter diesel particulate emissions concentration over a 70-year
lifetime exposure is 300. This is several times higher than dangerous toxics
like 1,3-Butadiene which is 170.
The IARC-WHO
statement sends out a strong signal for urgent and stringent action. But in
India
Early response from
other governments
Globally, governments
have responded to the science of diesel toxicity. The California Air Resources
Board had identified diesel exhaust in 1990 as a chemical known to cause cancer
and after an extensive review in 1998, listed diesel exhaust as a toxic air
contaminant. The US National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences added
diesel particulates to its list of substances that are reasonably anticipated to
be human carcinogens, in its ninth national toxicology report on carcinogens. In
fact, a multiple air toxics exposure study conducted by the South Coast Air
Quality Management District in California found that diesel particulates pose 70
per cent of the cancer risk in southern California.
Europe also began to
introduce clean diesel with 10 ppm sulphur and particulate traps from the time
of Euro IV emissions standards that are currently in force in 13 Indian cities.
In fact, the data available from Europe for
urban traffic shows that diesel and petrol cars meeting the same level of
emission norms have different toxicity levels. The toxicity is several times
higher for diesel emissions even as the emissions standards are progressively
tightened.
CSE
demands
The rapid
increase in use of under-priced and under-taxed toxic
diesel in cars without corrective action on quality of diesel and restraints on
its overall use virtually amounts to state-sponsored homicide. Public health
costs must figure in diesel’s balance sheet. Cancer cannot be traded for
profit.
·
Effectively high
additional taxes on diesel cars to fully neutralise the incentives that diesel
cars get from the low taxed diesel fuel. CSE has sent missives to the ministries
of finance and also to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas demanding
effectively high additional taxes on diesel cars to fully neutralise the
incentives that diesel cars get from the low taxed diesel fuel.
·
Immediately announce
the timeline for introduction of clean diesel technology and fuels nation-wide.
·
The revenue from the
additional tax should be ploughed back to meet the cost of refinery upgrade to
produce 10 ppm sulphur diesel nation-wide.
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