Japan - Diesel-engine gases endanger fetuses

[John Visher <visherjc@crisscross.com>]

Mainichi Daily News
                                           Friday, October 8, 1999

         Diesel-engine gases endanger fetuses


         Pregnant women be warned - particles contained in diesel-engine

         gases are harmful to fetuses, an expert study has found.

         The study, jointly conducted by experts from the National
Institute for
         Environmental Studies and the University of Tokyo, reached the
         findings by injecting liquid containing those particles into
mice.

         "Diesel gas particles reportedly contain more than 1,000
different
         chemical substances. I think that many of them, including
dioxin, may
         be harmful to pregnancy and the process of giving birth," said
Akira
         Suzuki, a researcher of the institute. "We plan to make more
studies
         about the mechanism of harmful effects."

         The study found that up to 70 percent of the mice that received
the
         particle injection miscarried, but all of those not injected
successfully
         gave birth.

         Each of the particles is less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter.
A
         micrometer is a millionth of a meter.

         Researches have shown that those particles emitted from diesel
         engines help people suffer from respiratory diseases such as
asthma.