Rosenkranz H S
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
Mutat Res. 1993 Oct;303(2):91-5. doi: 10.1016/0165-7992(93)90100-a.
Recent studies have reported the induction of lung tumors in rats chronically exposed to levels of diesel-engine emissions which interfered with lung clearance. The present analysis suggests that the mutagenic substances (e.g. dinitropyrenes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) present in diesel particulates are not major contributors to rat-lung carcinogenesis. The cancers presumably result from lung "overloading" and the ensuing inflammatory response. In the absence of additional data, this putative mechanism of diesel-caused cancer cannot be extrapolated to other species at risk from exposure to diesel emissions.
