Modern diesels burn so cleanly that laboratory rats suffered no lung illnesses during a lengthy study of their exposure to exhaust gases, according to the Health Effects Institute, which is releasing a report today.

The results can be interpreted to mean that people’s lungs are also not harmed by what it calls new technology diesel exhaust, or NTDE, because the animal and human organs operate in similar fashion, said the institute’s president, Dan Greenbaum. The Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study confirmed that amounts of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen have been reduced by over 90% in new-tech exhaust compared to that from older traditional diesel engines, or TDEs, as Environmental Protection Agency regulations require. And use of new-tech diesels meeting 2007 and 2010 federal standards is becoming widespread, he added. Click To Continue