IARC rules diesel exhaust carcinogenic

June 11th, 2012

In June 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified diesel engine exhaust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), based on sufficient evidence that exposure is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer.

Large populations are exposed to diesel exhaust in everyday life, whether through their occupation or through the ambient air.  The ruling therefore has big implications for regulatory agencies globally.  It further underlines the importance of a risk reduction approach to management of particulate matter in the absence of any ‘safe threshold’.