Jan 31, 2018, 06:31 PM
German outrage as it emerges carmakers deliberately tested exhaust fumes on humans
Article:
Quote:In the human testing, 19 men and six women were exposed to different concentrations of nitrogen oxides for several hours at a time, according to details released in the German press.
They were then checked in hospital for harmful effects. Nitrogen oxides are toxic chemicals found in diesel exhaust fumes, and the carmakers reportedly wanted to counter a World Health Organisation decision to classify them as carcinogenic.
The results of the tests, which were carried out in the western German city of Aachen, have not been released, but one of the scientists involved said Monday they were of “limited value” as the findings would not apply to the general population and nitrogen oxides are not the only harmful chemicals in diesel exhaust.
The testing was carried out by the European Research Association for Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT), a research group set up and funded by the three carmakers which was shut down in 2017.
The same group was responsible for a similar 2014 test in the US in which ten monkeys were exposed to diesel fumes for several hours, details of which emerged over the weekend.
The controversy comes as the German car industry tries to recover from the Dieselgate scandal of 2015, in which it emerged several carmakers had fitted software to their diesel engines designed to cheat emissions tests.