Diesel road vehicles emit only a small percentage of particulate matter compared to commercial, institutional and household sectors, says a paper issued by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Eighty three percent of particulate matters emissions in European Union countries and 97 percent in the US and Canada is generated by other economic sectors, according to Diesel Engine Exhausts: Myths and Realities.
UNECO concludes that it’s misleading to claim that exposure to vehicles’ diesel engines is the cause of increased risk of lung cancer. But this doesn’t mean the transportation sector should scrap its efforts to improve vehicles’ environmental performance. “On the contrary, they must continue and in an aggressively well targeted way,” the report says.
Earlier this month BASF debuted its LNT+CS4F emissions control system for diesel engines at the International Vienna Motor Symposium. The new system combines the features of a Lean NOx Trap (LNT) and a multifunctional catalyzed soot filter (CS4F). It can remove particulate matter, as well as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides from diesel-engine exhaust, helping automakers meet strict new emissions regulations including Euro 6c, BASF says.