Diesel engines 'cause 25% of air pollution deaths'

Diesel engines used in vehicles could be responsible for thousands of deaths each year, according to new figures. Experts have suggested that fumes created by diesel engines could cause over 7,000 premature deaths annually and cost the NHS billions of pounds. 

Frank Kelly, professor of environmental health at King's College London, said that diesel engines could be causing around one-in-four of all air pollution-related deaths. His suggestion builds on government figures for 2008, which showed that around 29,000 people die prematurely every year due to air pollution.

Diesel engines release particulate pollution that is highly toxic; these are able to be absorbed deeply into the body, passing through the lungs and affecting other organs. This type of particulate air pollution has been linked to a number of illnesses including asthma, heart attacks, lung cancer and stroke. Recent research also suggests that diesel fumes can be damaging to children's brains, increasing their risk of autism and schizophrenia.

Professor Kelly said: “Diesel accounts for at least 25 per cent of pollution so you can work out how many deaths it may be responsible for.

“I would ban all highly polluting diesel cars or tax diesel at a higher rate. We need a congestion charge in our cities that actually does what it should.

“The scale of the challenge is substantial and we need to be moving about differently in big cities if we are going to make a difference. We need fewer buses, fewer taxis.”

Diesel vehicles have been championed by the government in recent years because they produce less carbon dioxide emissions and deliver better mileage, however; diesel engines could be more damaging than originally thought. While estimates suggest that diesels engines are responsible for around a quarter of air pollution deaths, the researchers said this could be higher as the impact of nitrogen dioxide emissions from the engines has not been quantified.

"We have walked blindly into a situation where we have a high percentage of diesels in the transport sector. All taxis and buses are diesel. From one-in-ten private cars being diesel in 2000, it is now nearly half today. A lot of the minute particulate matter [emitted from exhausts] comes from diesels in cities. It is estimated that 50 per cent of the particulate matter in London is from transport and that diesel makes up about half of all the transport," Professor Kelly told the Guardian.