Diesel fumes responsible for air pollution deaths

[Globalti]

That London is waaay cleaner now than it's ever been, surely?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

That London is waaay cleaner now than it's ever been, surely?

It probably is overall. But NOX, after the push for diesels, reaches ridiculously high levels in places.

 

[Dec66]

That London is waaay cleaner now than it's ever been, surely?

Nope.

The EU Supreme Court had to order the UK Government to comply with air quality standards by 2020. Already the UK Government is saying that they can't comply till 2025, and the levels are getting worse.

 

[Globalti]

I can't remember the chemistry but I do remember reading a seemingly well-informed newspaper article about 20 years ago in which the writer prophesied that by encouraging the use of diesels rather than cleaner petrol engines the Government was actually removing a short-term problem and exchanging it for a far worse long-term problem. It looks as if we've reached that point.

 

[glenn forger]

yep, it was a complete con, so is the testing system, so is the monitoring of filthy engines.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

When we lived in Cambridgeshire in the 70s and took regular trips to Yarmouth, Lowestoft etc the stink of exhaust used to hang heavy in the air and make me and my brother physically sick. Nowadays I can.cycle the Manchester rush hour without a taste of what diesel engines used to pump out. Not to say it's any healthier but more palatable at least.

 

[snorri]

to stand close to the left hand side of a Massey Ferguson's engine.

You're younger than I thought, I'd always put you more towards the end of the grey Fergie petrol/paraffin era.

 

[glenn forger]

Commenting on the research released today, Dr Barratt, lecturer in air quality science at KCL, said: “This illustrative study adds to mounting evidence that vehicles provide little protection from harmful traffic pollution, and drivers and their passengers may even be exposed to higher levels than on the road outside.

“These initial findings highlight the urgent need for further investigation into the health risks faced by motorists and their passengers. It is especially important to understand the impacts of air pollution on professional motorists such as taxi and lorry drivers, who spend many hours behind the wheel each day.”

http://www.airqualitynews.com/2016/02/16/higher-air-pollution-health-risk-inside-car-study-finds/

 

[tyred]

You're younger than I thought, I'd always put you more towards the end of the grey Fergie petrol/paraffin era.

I've worked with them too. Such things have a long working life. I am a child!

 

[steveindenmark]

Cows seem to cause a considerable problem as well.

 

[EasyPeez]

Cows seem to cause a considerable problem as well.

Yes. Cycling up close behind one of them hoping for a blast of warm air on a cold morning is fraught with health risks.

 

[Globalti]

When Mrs Gti and I were, er, courting, she used to drive up to my house most weekends and always used to smell of exhaust fumes when she arrived after 2 to 3 hours on the M6 in Cheshire. You don't get that nowadays as all cars are much cleaner.

(As a footnote to that she is a former area manager and she knows the whole length of the M6 intimately having spent hours of her life sitting on it. When she dies she wants her ashes put in a salt cellar attached to the back of a car and sprinkled between Leicester and Carlisle.)

 

[slowmotion]

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

I can't stand the proximity of all those "Wellman" vitamin adverts featuring grinning sports stars that I've never heard of. Give me the cold anyday.

 

[ufkacbln]

Motorists may end up breathing in higher levels, given the lack of air flow in many vehicles.

There is also the argument that as cyclists breathe faster the air in the lungs is there for a shorter period of time, so less particulates are deposited

 

[raleighnut]

When Mrs Gti and I were, er, courting, she used to drive up to my house most weekends and always used to smell of exhaust fumes when she arrived after 2 to 3 hours on the M6 in Cheshire. You don't get that nowadays as all cars are much cleaner.

(As a footnote to that she is a former area manager and she knows the whole length of the M6 intimately having spent hours of her life sitting on it. When she dies she wants her ashes put in a salt cellar attached to the back of a car and sprinkled between Leicester and Carlisle.)

The M6 doesn't go near Leicester though, the 69 starts there though.