Diesel Exhaust

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Research Report 68-III
Steven A Belinsky
Charles E Mitchell
Kristen J Nikula
Deborah S Swafford
1995

In Part III of this study, Dr. Belinsky and his associates at the Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute examined lung tumors from rats that had inhaled high concentrations of diesel engine exhaust or carbon black particles (see Part I by Dr. Joe Mauderly). The investigators applied molecular biology techniques to measure mutations in selected genes in the DNA from the tumors.

Research Report 68-II
Kurt Randerath
Kim L Putnam
Joe L Mauderly
Paige L Williams
Erika Randerath
1995

Dr. Randerath's study was part of a large cancer bioassay conducted by Dr. Joe Mauderly and colleagues of the Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI). The investigators exposed F344/N rats by inhalation to clean (filtered) air or to one of two concentrations of either diesel exhaust or carbon (2.5 or 6.5 mg of particles/m3 of test atmosphere). Both Dr. Randerath and Dr. Mauderly measured DNA adducts in lung tissue samples from rats exposed at ITRI for different periods of time to the test atmospheres. Dr.

Research Report 72
Frederick A Beland
1995

Dr. Beland and his associates at the University of Arkansas School of Medical Sciences developed an assay to measure mutations induced by dinitropyrenes, a class of diesel engine exhaust, in rats. The investigators analyzed the mutations in a selected gene in spleen T lymphocytes from rats treated with 1,6-dinitropyrene under conditions that induced lung tumors at the highest dose tested. They also examined DNA adduct levels in lung and liver tissues and in spleen lymphocytes and white blood cells.

Special Report
Health Effects Institute
1995

A Special Report of the Institute's Diesel Working Group. Diesel engine emissions have the potential to cause adverse health effects, including cancer and other pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. However, it is difficult to distinguish the potential health risks attributable to exposure to diesel exhaust from those attributable to other air pollutants. For over a decade, HEI has supported a broad-based research program to evaluate the health risks of diesel emissions, including investigations of carcinogenesis, modeling studies, and emissions characterization. The purpose of this Special Report is to examine what is known, not known, and still uncertain about the health risks of exposure to diesel emissions.

Research Report 68-I
Joe L Mauderly
M Burton Snipes
Edward Barr
Steven A Belinsky
James A Bond
Antone L Brooks
I-Yiin Chang
Yung S Cheng
Nancy A Gillett
William C Griffith
Rogene F Henderson
Charles E Mitchell
Kristen J Nikula
1994

Dr. Mauderly and coworkers exposed F344/N rats to clean air or to one of two levels (2.5 or 6.5 mg of particles/m3 of diesel exhaust or air) of either emissions from a light-duty diesel engine or carbon black particles. The exposures lasted for 16 hours/day, 5 days/week, for 24 months. The carbon black particles were similar to the soot particles in the diesel engine exhaust; however, they contained markedly lower amounts of adsorbed organic compounds.

Research Report 66
Paul C Howard
Frederick A Beland
1994

High doses of inhaled diesel engine exhaust produce lung tumors in laboratory animals and may cause cancer in humans. Nitropyrenes are products of diesel engine exhaust and can be activated by the body\'s metabolism to form highly reactive products that interact with DNA to form DNA adducts. The adducts can interfere with the normal processes of DNA replication and can lead to genetic mutations that may result in carcinogenesis. Dr.

Research Report 64
Karam El-Bayoumy
Bruce E Johnson
Ajit K Roy
Pramod Upadhyaya
Syrus J Partian
1994

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitro-substituted derivatives (nitro-PAHs), products of incomplete combustion, is widespread. This is of concern because individual PAHs and PAH-containing mixtures cause tumors in animals and they are suspected to contribute to human cancer. To asses their carcinogenic potential in humans, biomarkers of PAH exposure that measure the internal dose or the effective dose need to be developed. Dr.

Research Report 61
Roger W Giese
Paul Vouros
1993

Both environmental and genetic factors are believed to contribute to the multistage process that results in carcinogenesis. Therefore, determining the health risks associated with exposure to known and suspected carcinogenic chemicals is essential for informed decision-making by regulatory agencies. Dr. Roger W. Giese and colleagues at Northeastern University developed sensitive and specific techniques for measuring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts, a class of DNA adducts associated with exposure to constituents of diesel emissions and other combustion products.

Research Report 56
Susan T Bagley
Linda D Gratz
David G Leddy
John H Johnson
1993

Devices have been developed to reduce particle emissions from vehicles with diesel engines, such as a trap that filters the particles from the exhaust. Periodically, the trap is cleaned (regenerated) by electric heating, thereby burning the particles before they can clog the trap. There is concern that potentially harmful chemicals associated with the particles may be emitted from the trap during normal use and regeneration. Dr.

Research Report 55
Veronica M Maher
Nitai P Bhattacharyya
M Chia-Miao Mah
Janet Boldt
Jia-Ling Yang
J Justin McCormick
1993

Nitropyrenes, which form during diesel fuel combustion, cause mutations and are carcinogenic in some animals. Dr. Veronica Maher and colleagues at Michigan State University studied the effect of nitropyrene-DNA adducts on gene mutation. The investigators exposed a specific gene, in culture, to each of two nitropyrene derivatives. They then (1) compared the number of adducts formed by each derivative, (2) analyzed the chemical structure of the adducts, and (3) determined in which region of the DNA the adducts formed.