Metal-containing fuel additives catalyzing soot combustion in diesel particle filters are used in a widespread manner, and with the growing popularity of diesel vehicles, their application is expected to increase in the near future. Detailed investigation into how such additives affect exhaust toxicity is therefore necessary and has to be performed before epidemiological evidence points towards...

There are at least three mechanisms by which alveolar macrophages play a critical role in protecting the lung from bacterial or viral infections: production of inflammatory cytokines that recruit and activate lung phagocytes, production of antimicrobial reactive oxidant species, and production of interferon (an antiviral agent). In this article we summarize data concerning the effect of exposur...

Diesel exhaust inhalation impairs vascular function, and, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear, endothelin (ET) 1 and NO are potential mediators. The aim of this study was to identify whether diesel exhaust inhalation affects the vascular actions of ET-1 in humans. In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, 13 healthy male volunteers were exposed to either filtered air or dilut...

In this study, subcritical water was used for the extraction and fractionation of organic atmospheric particulate. Two types of carbonaceous aerosol, diesel exhaust particulate (a relatively nonpolar matrix) and wood smoke particulate (a polar matrix), were sequentially extracted using subcritical water at temperatures ranging from 25°C to 300°C. The importance of each fraction was evaluated us...

Diesel exhaust inhalation impairs vascular function, and, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear, endothelin (ET) 1 and NO are potential mediators. The aim of this study was to identify whether diesel exhaust inhalation affects the vascular actions of ET-1 in humans. In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, 13 healthy male volunteers were exposed to either filtered air or dilut...

Since 1970, vehicle’s exhaust pollutions have received increasing attention as a source of air pollution at both local (human health concerns) and global (global warming) scales. This study mainly discusses diesel and gasoline vehicles because, today, over 90% of vehicles on the road use gasoline and diesel fuels. The major concerns of gasoline exhaust contaminants are carbon monoxide (CO), hyd...

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) contain elemental carbon, organic compounds including Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and other trace compounds. Diesel exhaust is complex mixture of thousands of chemicals. Over forty air contaminants are recognized as toxicants, such as carcinogens. Most diesel exhaust particles have aerodynamic diameters falling within a range of 0.1 to 0.25 μm. DEP w...

We conducted experiments to determine whether diesel engine exhaust affects reproductive endocrine function in growing rats. The rats were assigned to three groups: a group exposed to total diesel engine exhaust containing 5.63 mg/m3 particulate matter, 4.10 ppm nitrogen dioxide, and 8.10 ppm nitrogen oxide; a group exposed to filtered exhaust without particulate matter; and a group exposed to ...

.........................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................5 DIESEL ENGINE TECHNOLOGY AND EMISSION REGULATIONS .............................7 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL NATURE OF DIESEL AEROSOL ......................