Four national trucking companies have agreed to participate in what is believed to be the first comprehensive study into the impact of diesel exhaust emissions on the health of truck drivers.
The proposal will be submitted to the National Cancer Institute and the Human Health Effects Institute for funding. A decision on whether it will be underwritten by the organizations is expected later this year.
“We, like everyone else in the study, are interested in the health of our employees and feel this is a way for industry to find out, in as comprehensive a way as possible, if there is a link between diesel fuel exhaust and illness,” said Jim Curtis, vice president of maintenance for ABF Freight System Inc., one of the four carriers involved.
No research conducted so far has established a link between diesel exhaust emissions and a truck driver’s health, but the Environmental Protection Agency is moving ahead on the regulatory front to improve engine efficiency and diesel fuel to lessen what is emitted into the air. EPA has said diesel emissions can contribute to respiratory problems while environmental groups have linked them to creating 125,000 cancer cases a year.
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