Diesel Pollution

Oregon PSR is gravely concerned about the health risks of high exposure to diesel emissions in urban and rural communities throughout Oregon. As the World Health Organization has stated, particulate matter from diesel exhaust in our outdoor environments negatively impacts more communities than any other pollutant. Due to our lack of health-protective engine standards, diesel exhaust is a serious and far-reaching threat to the health of all Oregonians. Oregon PSR supports House Bill 2007 as a productive step forward, recognizing that the air we breathe is not confined by city, county, or government boundaries and that more work will need to be done to resolve this issue statewide so that all Oregonians may breathe healthy air, as is a human right.

Diesel exhaust contains tiny sooty particles and more than 40 hazardous pollutants which can be inhaled deep into the lungs and absorbed into the blood stream. Children and workers exposed to diesel at close range are at the highest risk of harm. Known and suspected health effects include: cognitive impairment, heart attack, asthma attacks and more severe symptoms, male infertility or birth defects and autism linked to maternal exposure, impaired lung growth in children, higher risk of stroke, worsened allergies, lung cancer. Diesel in Oregon causes as many as 468 premature deaths and $3.5 billion in economic loss each year.

Diesel Exhaust & Neurodevelopmental Disorders Resources

Diesel, Small Particulate Matter and Public Health Factsheet