State Leads in Ill Effects From Diesels, Report Says

By ANTHONY DePALMA

Published: February 23, 2005

Smoky diesel exhaust billowing from the tailpipes of buses, trucks and construction equipment leads to more premature deaths, heart attacks and bouts of asthma in New York than in any other state, according to a report released yesterday by the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group.

The harmful effects of diesel exhaust were most severe in New York City, despite recent efforts to reduce noxious emissions. The study estimated that there were more heart attacks per capita connected to diesel exhaust in the city than in any other metropolitan area in the country.

Diesel manufacturers contend that the study exaggerates the health risks in part because the results are based on data that is several decades old.

Every year, more than 2,300 people in New York State die prematurely because of exposure to diesel pollution, according to the report. More than 3,600 heart attacks and 51,000 asthma attacks are attributed to the exhaust emissions.

Although it is impossible to separate diesel exhaust from other contaminants completely, the report estimated that more than 315,000 workdays a year were lost because of diesel emissions.

"Diesel exhaust is a clear and present threat to public health that needs to be addressed right away," said Peter M. Iwanowicz, vice president and chief policy officer of the American Lung Association of New York State.

While black smoke is the most visible part of diesel exhaust, it is not the most dangerous element. Nearly invisible particles - some so fine they are no wider than one-hundredth of the diameter of a human hair - are believed to cause the most damage because they can lodge deep inside the lungs.

Modifying existing diesel vehicles and making modest changes in the way they are used can eliminate up to 90 percent of the most harmful emissions, Mr. Iwanowicz said. Allen R. Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, which represents manufacturers and diesel fuel refiners, said diesel exhaust makes up a small percentage of air pollution contaminants, and recent advances in diesel technology make a new vehicle eight times cleaner than one built a dozen years ago.

"This study really overstates and overreaches," Mr. Schaeffer said, because it does not use current data.

Even so, Mr. Schaeffer said, the diesel industry thinks it is a good idea to update older engines.

New federal regulations will require diesel engines built after 2007 to meet standards that will eliminate more than 90 percent of pollutants in diesel exhaust.

But existing vehicles will continue to emit the harmful exhaust for decades, said David M. Martin, regional vice president of the American Lung Association of New York State.

Among cities, the report found that New York had by far the most dangerous level of diesel contamination in the country.