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Diesel engines responsible for 7,000 deaths


Still Waters

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Fumes from diesel engines are thought to be responsible for around 7,000 deaths a year as experts claim air pollution has a similar impact on the heart as smoking.

http://www.telegraph...ths-a-year.html

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I drive a diesel. I can't claim anywhere near 7,000 though.

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I work with diesels nearly every day....my breathing isn't as good as it used to be....as weird as it sounds I can't shout anymore (not that I ever did anyway)...but if I raise my voice to loud I start coughing.

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Excellent news. I HATE diesel engines with a passion. The fuel should be banned.

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The position isn't getting to the lease car realm; just switched to a company lease car - diesel is the only option as it seen as more efficient/greener

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I would just ask those who *own* or manage them - get them serviced and tuned properly!!! If you happen to notice any trace of black stuff around your exhaust (you *do* occasionally wash or even walk around your vehicle, don't you?) then I'd suggest checking your rear view mirror as you accelerate and see if you are enveloping me in your filthy soot.. - I'm the one in the green car (I don't mean a Prius, it just happens to be metallic green..)..

Is this you?post-95887-0-61383800-1398928973_thumb.j

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Why do drivers of diesel trucks leave their engines running while they deliver goods, pass any loading/discharge bay and you will see clouds of diesel smoke drifting around everyday.Drivers at bus depots do the same,they start up their engines then leave them running while they disappear into the canteen at 6 a.m.

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The green taxes are based on CO2 output. Diesels have lower CO2 than petrols hence why they have increased many fold over the years. In the UK they account for more than 50% of new vehicle sales, from about 30% a decade earlier.

The financial incentive is still based on C02 so that figure will probably grow higher. Yet more proof that green taxes are poorly thought out and in cases like this more damaging than good.

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Your chances of been killed by a petrol car are considerably higher.

In America this figure for deaths by particulate emissions represents a 0.00012% chance of fatality in your lifetime. The chances of been killed in a car crash are 0.6% in a lifetime.

Regular vehicle checks and catalytic converters will mean that most diesels produce minimal particulate emissions. If there are cars and trucks going round belching black smoke then it represents a failure of regulation to prevent it.

Just to show it can be done - I have a fifteen year old diesel and the emissions are consistently one tenth of the legal limit.

Br Cornelius

Edited by Guest
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Your chances of been killed by a petrol car are considerably higher.

In America this figure for deaths by particulate emissions represents a 0.00012% chance of fatality in your lifetime. The chances of been killed in a car crash are 0.6% in a lifetime.

Regular vehicle checks and catalytic converters will mean that most diesels produce minimal particulate emissions. If there are cars and trucks going round belching black smoke then it represents a failure of regulation to prevent it.

Just to show it can be done - I have a fifteen year old diesel and the emissions are consistently one tenth of the legal limit.

Br Cornelius

I've got you beat by 4 years.

I went to a climate change seminar last night. Oklahoma's Conservation Districts are making good progress toward adapting to climate change, but I wonder if it will be enough. When we say that the temperature will be two degrees higher by 2100, we are shooting at a moving target. It will be higher the next year and higher still the following year. Eventually, it will get beyond our ability to adapt. Then what? We have no choice: we have to limit carbon emissions.

Doug

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Why do drivers of diesel trucks leave their engines running while they deliver goods, pass any loading/discharge bay and you will see clouds of diesel smoke drifting around everyday.Drivers at bus depots do the same,they start up their engines then leave them running while they disappear into the canteen at 6 a.m.

It takes more fuel to start a diesel than to leave it running a few minutes to run in and make a delivery...plus some of the refrigerated boxes require the engine running to power the coolers

Edited by Jeremiah65
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When looking into pollution masks for cycling IIRC no matter what the quality of mask you use there are elements in diesel fumes that can penetrate the mask that are not in petrol fumes.

I never got round to getting a mask but see it as a more important accessory than a helmet if cycling in traffic.

I also drive a diesel (12 years old) and I might have to get Br Cornelius to service it for me to help alleviate my guilt.

Edit to change statement after a quick bit of research into cycling masks :blush:

Edited by Junior Chubb
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Regular vehicle checks and catalytic converters will mean that most diesels produce minimal particulate emissions. If there are cars and trucks going round belching black smoke then it represents a failure of regulation to prevent it.

You can remove the Cat and still hit emission levels. Unfortunately it is illegal at the moment the remove the completely pointless EGR system, which by it's very design of reducing efficiency by 3% means you burn 3% more diesel to get the same power (coupled with the fact it does no good to your engine, since reburning expelled exhaust gases results in poorer efficiency - you are replacing some of the clean air normally combined with the diesel, with exhaust gases that are not clean in air, you reduce the efficiency of the engine and use more fuel again for the same power - add to the fact that exhaust gases contain soot, and introducing soot into your combustion chamber is just bizarre since you'll have soot build up on internal engine parts, that can never be a good idea - hopefully they'll remove this reqiurement in yrs to come).

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It takes more fuel to start a diesel than to leave it running a few minutes to run in and make a delivery...plus some of the refrigerated boxes require the engine running to power the coolers

Also, repairing wear and tear on the engine from frequent temperature changes costs more than the fuel does.

Doug

Edited by Doug1029
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Also, repairing wear and tear on the engine from frequent temperature changes costs more than the fuel does.

Doug

Hi Doug, we are not talking about cost here, would you rather pay 10 cents more for your diesel or have clouds of diesel polluting the air you breathe, but this is only part of the problem,the rain forests (oxygen providers) are being hacked down at a furious rate all over the world, so there has to be a point of No Return when pollution out strips clean air, = end of life on earth.
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I would just ask those who *own* or manage them - get them serviced and tuned properly!!! If you happen to notice any trace of black stuff around your exhaust (you *do* occasionally wash or even walk around your vehicle, don't you?) then I'd suggest checking your rear view mirror as you accelerate and see if you are enveloping me in your filthy soot.. - I'm the one in the green car (I don't mean a Prius, it just happens to be metallic green..)..

FYI: Even a new engine belches out clouds of diesel smoke when engine compression is used to slow it down on a long downhill grade.

Doug

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Hi Doug, we are not talking about cost here, would you rather pay 10 cents more for your diesel or have clouds of diesel polluting the air you breathe, but this is only part of the problem,the rain forests (oxygen providers) are being hacked down at a furious rate all over the world, so there has to be a point of No Return when pollution out strips clean air, = end of life on earth.

I see your point, but I was just explaining the practice. I turn mine off to cut fuel use; I have put 248,000 miles on it with almost no engine maintenance (It's a Cummins.). You can't beat them for durability. I don't know whether my diesel costs less to operate than my gas-driven car, but I suspect it costs a little more. I mostly use it on long hauls and I use cruise control most of the time. The engine is powerful enough that hills don't bother it - it holds the same speed uphill or down. That probably helps with fuel efficiency. On flat terrain, use cruise control - it can drive the engine better than a person. But on rolling terrain, a person can often do better.

Doug

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VW 1.9cc straight diesel found in the Golf and the Rabbitt. Probably the best diesel engine ever built for the domestic market. 250,000 miles and still going strong. I also run it on waste veg oil which, though not a universal solution, means my carbon footprint is fairly neutral.

Br Cornelius

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I drive a diesel car. But still I dont think I harm nature more than Hollywood.

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I work with diesels nearly every day....my breathing isn't as good as it used to be....as weird as it sounds I can't shout anymore (not that I ever did anyway)...but if I raise my voice to loud I start coughing.

That sounds like the same symptoms a smoker gets after 30 years of smoking.
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I can't stand to be around a diesel truck when running. Get too close and it gags you. I hate it when people just leave them running. Bad enough being behind one on the highway.

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Your chances of been killed by a petrol car are considerably higher.

Nope. That's not the case.

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Its a question of relative risk. Your chance of been killed by a petrol vehicle hitting you are literally 1000's of times greater than your chance of been killed by diesel emissions. It doesn't stop people using petrol cars.

All risks are relative and should be judged on there magnitude as well as their source.

Br Cornelius

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Its a question of relative risk. Your chance of been killed by a petrol vehicle hitting you are literally 1000's of times greater than your chance of been killed by diesel emissions. It doesn't stop people using petrol cars.

All risks are relative and should be judged on there magnitude as well as their source.

Br Cornelius

I'll have to disagree there - in that you need to compare like with like. Comparing accidents with emissions is a highly flawed approach. And I'm afraid relative risk, if you take it to the extremes, means that a couple of unshielded plutonium-powered cars per country should be fine.. If not, why not? Relatively the risk is much lower....

Vehicles .. ALL vehicles .. should have to abide by ALL the emission and safety requirements, and that ISN'T just CO2 or CO emissions.. You don't get special treatment just because you are better in one respect (and crap in all the others..?). And here in Oz we have a big problem in that vehicle testing is minimal (depends on the state) and really only applies on new registrations, if that. Worthless.

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I'll have to disagree there - in that you need to compare like with like. Comparing accidents with emissions is a highly flawed approach. And I'm afraid relative risk, if you take it to the extremes, means that a couple of unshielded plutonium-powered cars per country should be fine.. If not, why not? Relatively the risk is much lower....

Vehicles .. ALL vehicles .. should have to abide by ALL the emission and safety requirements, and that ISN'T just CO2 or CO emissions.. You don't get special treatment just because you are better in one respect (and crap in all the others..?). And here in Oz we have a big problem in that vehicle testing is minimal (depends on the state) and really only applies on new registrations, if that. Worthless.

OK - in the USA the risk of you dying from petrol related emissions is many times higher than from diesel. this is because petrol cars are the primary source of ground level smog and NOx emissions. Things can be done about this - but ultimately in the USA your chances of dying from emissions from a petrol car are still far higher than from a diesel.

If the small risk is unacceptable then please advocate the banning of all private vehicles that have emissions.

Br Cornelius

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