Can smelling diesel be toxic, or is it only bad after it comes out as exhaust?

Question

A garbage truck blew an engine on my street and incidentally ejected out /a lot/ of diesel fuel all over the road in front of my house. They came by later and covered it with cat litter/sand or something.

It smells really bad when I'm outside. I'm just curious if by being outside and being able to smell it, if I'm inhaling any chemicals that might be killing brain cells, or otherwise bio-accumulating inside my body. Is this possible?

Is smell an indication of toxicity, or is it completely harmless in spite of the odor? Could I go out and jog over it and be absolutely fine?

Answer 1

The smell of diesel is far less dangerous then what comes out from the exhaust as the other guy said.

This is because what comes freom the exaust is not diesel but contains gasses like carbon monoxide which can kill you, sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen which are acidic.

The smell of diesel is diesel itselp in vapour form, and in my opinion shouldnt be smelt in toooooo excess as you may be aware.

hope it answered your question.

Answer 2

The spill on the street outside your house is an irritating annoyance, but it is far less dangerous than diesel exhaust, and will eventually dissipate.  You could run in place over it for hours with no more ill effects than a headache and maybe a mildly scratchy throat.  Consider the people who deal with large volumes of diesel fuel daily, and still have very long lifespans.