Are exhaust fumes from unleaded petrol or diesel cars more carcinogenic for humans?

Question

Are exhaust fumes from unleaded petrol or diesel cars more carcinogenic for humans?

Answer 1

well.......... exhaust fumes from diesel cars are more carcinogenic.... as unleaded petrol is.... free at least from lead....!!!! making it better than diesel!!!

but still alternative sources are better...... since they are far more safer and eco-friendly~!!

Answer 2

Do you remember when gas had lead in it and the greens called for it to be removed. There are always claims that something is destroying the environment. The only thing that I agree with is that litter and trash are doing harm to the environment and I wish that people would more concerned about it than the global warming hoax

Answer 3

Not even close, even when properly maintained, a diesel engine is a lot worse in a landslide.  The combination of the polycyclic aromatics (which are known carcinogens) and fine particulates (which are inhalable) is particularly damaging.  Diesels also produce more nitrogen oxides than gasoline engines.  NOx is particularly bad from an urban photochemical smog standpoint.

Answer 4

Do you mean which is the most carcinogenic of the two vehicles ?. they are both carcinogenic, but the diesel would be more so than the un-leaded petrol.

Answer 5

I don't think science has yet produced a definitive answer for this question.  Much would depend on how you set out to measure the emissions and their carcinogenic effects.

The main carcinogens in exhaust are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - essentially unburned fuel vapors, and fine particulates (pm10) - essentially smoke which goes deep into the lungs.  Gasoline powered engines generally produce more VOCs than do diesels; whereas diesels produce more particulates.    (Neither modern gasolines or diesels contain much lead, as lead was used as an additive to fuels, and does not occur naturally in fuels, beyond trace amounts.  Diesels would also produce less NOx than gasoline engines due to lower combustion temperatures.)

People tend to perceive diesels as being dirtier than gasoline engines for two reasons: First, diesels have tighter maintenance tolerances than do gasoline engines.  If maintained properly, diesels are likely to be no more or less polluting than gasoline engines, while being significantly more fuel efficient.  Secondly, much of the diesel fleet in the US consists of trucks and other engines that were not required to have emission controls.

So, if you're speaking in terms of the average emissions of the current vehicle fleet, then, yes, diesels contribute more than their share of pollution, relative to the gasoline powered fleet.  But, if you compare emissions of a modern turbo-diesel to a modern gasoline engine, both with emission controls, neither will be significantly cleaner or dirtier than the other.

Here's an somewhat interesting study on the subject, if you wish to read more.  

www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/p...