Diesel fumes responsible for air pollution deaths

[Accy cyclist]

As cyclists we must breath in more fumes than the average person.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sel-Air-pollution-killing-40-000-year-UK.html

My dad died of oesophageal cancer after working as a bus/coach bodybuilder for nearly 50 years. The doctor attending him in his last days said it was possible that exposure to diesel fumes was responsible for his death as he was a non smoker and hardly drank alcohol. Should we consider using masks when cycling in heavy traffic?

 

[fossyant]

Never been a fan of diesel for the particulate pollution. Co2 isn't the be all and end all. TBH wearing a mask won't help and they restrict breathing. They also need to be changed frequently.

 

[mjr]

As cyclists we must breath in more fumes than the average person

Why must we? Who's trying to make us? Motorists breath in more muck than we do because they spend all their time sitting directly in the firing line - and as we get more cycle tracks slightly away from motorists, things are only going to get better for cycling in this regard:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-nGqqBykHo

(from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2014/aug/12/london-air-pollution-public-transport-video )

 

[ianrauk]

Face masks don't block out the smallest particles which are the ones that do the damage.
Pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers breath in the same amount as cyclists.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I believe that cyclists actually breathe less polluted air than car occupants. Something to do with where car ventilation takes the air in from. But I'd imagine very prolonged and intense exposure to the fumes from older diesels would have taken its toll on your father's health Would he have also been exposed to paint fumes?

 

[The_Weekend_Report_Guy]

Pollution is such a loong delicate subject.. Is a personal decision from my point of view... Want to wear one? Go for it it won't hurt for sure..

Sorry about your dad.. And lets not forget that the work conditions 50 years ago were totally different.. (ventilation, regulations, exposure and protection)

Me? I will eat one kilo less of meat a week to help the pollution problem... (meat= fish, chicken, pork or any other animal you can imagine)

 

[glenn forger]

Is this the wrong place to admit getting close to the bus in front to get a warm blast from the exhaust on cold days?

 

[ianrauk]

Is this the wrong place to admit getting close to the bus in front to get a warm blast from the exhaust on cold days?

I'm practically sideways pressed against the engine on cold mornings.

 

[glenn forger]

"Bus Bong"

 

[tyred]

Is this the wrong place to admit getting close to the bus in front to get a warm blast from the exhaust on cold days?

For me in my teenage years, it used to be one of life's simple pleasures when gathering potatoes on frosty mornings to stand close to the left hand side of a Massey Ferguson's engine and get the warming blast of hot air blown back by the radiator fan mingled with the smell of hot oil from the crankcase breather pipe.

 

[Dec66]

Quite a scary Dispatches programme on Channel 4 last night about this (particulates and Nitrogen Dioxide levels).

Parts of London had breached their annual NO2 limits by the first week in January this year.

Quite ironic that the thing supposedly keeping me fit and healthy is probably slowly killing me.

Still, it won't matter when the UK leaves the EU, because the breaches of the air quality thresholds won't happen anymore (as they are ditched to allow polluters to do as they like).

 

[classic33]

A closed air system is the only means of keeping the particles out.
Should you go down the mask route, you'll be changing them every five miles(approx).
They don't wash very well, so it'd be a replacement.

 

[raleighnut]

Quite a scary Dispatches programme on Channel 4 last night about this (particulates and Nitrogen Dioxide levels).

Parts of London had breached their annual NO2 limits by the first week in January this year.

Quite ironic that the thing supposedly keeping me fit and healthy is probably slowly killing me.

Still, it won't matter when the UK leaves the EU, because the breaches of the air quality thresholds won't happen anymore (as they are ditched to allow polluters to do as they like).

The like is for the comment, not the fact.
20 yrs ago a mate and me used to go to Bradgate Park after finishing our nightshift (it was on the way home) to sit and have a drink and a smoke on the 'Old John' hill, the pall of smog that could be seen hung over Leicester was terrible.

 

[mjr]

Quite a scary Dispatches programme on Channel 4 last night about this (particulates and Nitrogen Dioxide levels).

Dirty Secrets: What's Really in Our Air? - Channel 4 Dispatches is also on...
Channel 4 3:15am Fri 26 Feb (from www.tvguide.co.uk)

Quite ironic that the thing supposedly keeping me fit and healthy is probably slowly killing me.

No, it's still keeping you fitter and healthier than not, despite that.

 

[Dec66]

No, it's still keeping you fitter and healthier than not, despite that.

Debatable, at my age.

I'm not going to stop, obviously.