Particulates

Ruling on diesel bans in German cities could hurt demand for the vehicles

Milan bans cars in the city center for three days this week, trying to decrease air pollution. No rain, little wind have clouded the city in smog.

If there were ever a reason for automakers like Audi and Volkswagen to get their "clean diesel" technology – or something even cleaner, i.e., zero-emission vehicles – on the road, this is it. Researchers at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands say up to six percent of lung-cancer deaths in

Breathing in traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack up to six hours after exposure, according to research published by the British Medical Journal.

In what might be considered one of the worst bits of info related to diesel engines, medical researchers at the University of Edinburgh say that chemical particles (aka particulates) exiting the tailpipe of diesel-fueled vehicles can significantly increase the risk of heart attack in otherwise healthy adults.

Tiny chemical particles emitted by diesel fumes could raise the risk of heart attacks, research has shown. Scientists have found that ultrafine particles produced when diesel burns are harmful to blood vessels and can increase the chances of blood clots forming in arteries, leading to a heart attack or stroke.

Biodiesel is still in limbo here in the U.S., but even if we never return to large scale production, at least diesel vehicles can continue to get cleaner on their own. The latest example of cleaner diesel tech news comes from Finland, where Pegasor Ltd. has introduced a new, compact, continuously operating and real-time Nik Bristow

Italian company Pirelli is best known for making high performance tires, but now it is making efforts in emissions technology. The Italian government announced an agreement between the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and the City Council of Beijing, China. Pirelli will supply diesel particulate filter systems (DPF) to be installed on heavy duty vehicles (mainly buses, but also trucks and later snowploughs and tractors). The vehicles are used by the local public transportation company and the f