Diesel fume headaches?

[rekees4300]

According to American Cancer Society:

- Prolonged exposure to diesel exhaust probably increases the risk of lung cancer and maybe other cancers, too.

- Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust is very unlikely to affect anyone's risk of developing lung cancer.

ACS :: Diesel Exhaust

 

[Rob-D]

According to American Cancer Society:

- Prolonged exposure to diesel exhaust probably increases the risk of lung cancer and maybe other cancers, too.

- Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust is very unlikely to affect anyone's risk of developing lung cancer.

ACS :: Diesel Exhaust

The problem with studies is that they isolate the carcinogen. Trouble is we aren't just exposed to one carcinogen like diesel, we are constantly bombarded with them. Spray your fields with glyphosate, eat non organic foods full of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics, get on the highway with cars trucks and buses, acid rain, the factory down the road, our polluted oceans and fish, etc., etc.

Avoid any carcinogen you can. When you breath diesel, you're just adding to the list.

Rob

 

[SkyPup]

Problem is, it's apples to oranges. A small Diesel compared to a large gasoline engine might show the same results. And a large gasoline engine can be one hundred to a thousand times cleaner than a small one. A test was done on a Cummins 5.9 Diesel and a GM 3.4L gasoline. Results only show about 1/4 to 1/3 the amounts of CO for about the same HP. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2005/session2/2005_deer_mcdonald.pdf

Back to the moral of the story - the fact is that gasoline spark ignition engines have hundreds of times the carbon monoxide emissions that diesel compression engines do, however compression ignition engines have thousands of times the carbon soot particulate output that gasoline spark engines do.

Heck, all those carbon atoms have to go somewhere.....!!! LOL

 

[Rob-D]

Back to the moral of the story - the fact is that gasoline spark ignition engines have hundreds of times the carbon monoxide emissions that diesel compression engines do, however compression ignition engines have thousands of times the carbon soot particulate output that gasoline spark engines do.

Heck, all those carbon atoms have to go somewhere.....!!! LOL

I thought the story was whether or not diesel is bad for you? That's a one word answer.

Yes.

Rob

 

[SkyPup]

Hmmm.... Center for Disease Control (CDC) unable to detect any carbon monoxide from a diesel tractor exhaust?

But enough carbon monoxide from a gasoline tractor exhaust to kill its human operator.


Outdoor Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Attributed to Tractor Exhaust -- Kentucky, 1997

 

[Rob-D]

Hmmm.... Center for Disease Control (CDC) unable to detect any carbon monoxide from a diesel tractor exhaust?

But enough carbon monoxide from a gasoline tractor exhaust to kill its human operator.


Outdoor Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Attributed to Tractor Exhaust -- Kentucky, 1997

Apples and oranges.

Cabon monoxide kills from asphyxiation over short time, diesel kills over long term from cancer. How long? Depends on what other pullutants are in your system. Smoke? Heavy drinker? Over weight? High fat diet? etc. We know what kills people before their time.

Rob

 

[SkyPup]

Your right, smoking a cigarette puts more carbon monoxide into your bloodstream than diesel exhaust does.

 

[Rob-D]

Your right, smoking a cigarette puts more carbon monoxide into your bloodstream than diesel exhaust does.

Ok, let's see how many different ways we can ask this question before we get the answer we want.

Smoking kills, diesel kills. End of story.

I own a diesel, I'm as care ful as possible not to breath what comes out the pipe. Get a stack, get a cab, reduce and divert it as best you can because, guess what? It's really bad for you!

Rob

 

[Duffster]

Ok, let's see how many different ways we can ask this question before we get the answer we want.

Smoking kills, diesel kills. End of story.

I own a diesel, I'm as care ful as possible not to breath what comes out the pipe. Get a stack, get a cab, reduce and divert it as best you can because, guess what? It's really bad for you!

Rob

Would it be as bad if you had a turbo? :laughing:

 

[FlaDon]

Would it be as bad if you had a turbo? :laughing:

With some of the engines I've seen, yes.:laughing: Alco locos are a prime example. And GE carried on the tradition. Open up the throttle on either of them and you'd think that you were running a steam loco. The turbos wound up but the smoke didn't go away. Running rich produces the most CO.

 

[Rob-D]

Would it be as bad if you had a turbo? :laughing:

Good one Duffster!!!!!

FlaDon, it's an inside joke.
Rob

 

[Rob-D]

With some of the engines I've seen, yes.:laughing: Alco locos are a prime example. And GE carried on the tradition. Open up the throttle on either of them and you'd think that you were running a steam loco. The turbos wound up but the smoke didn't go away. Running rich produces the most CO.

I win!! I win!! Turbos kill you faster!

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

There is a condition called Boater's Fatigue which can occur with four hours of exposure to noise, vibration, sun, glare and wind. Now I don't think we get much wind from our Go Fast Tractors but I know that if I do not wear hearing protection I get tired very quickly when running the tractor. The sun and heat gets to me as well.

Just running an open station tractor can be tiring which depending on the person could lead to headaches. Not to mentioned the sun beating down on you and not staying hydrated.

I usually get neck and back pain when mowing or box blading since I am constantly looking over my right shoulder. I don't get headaches that I can remember but the neck and back sure can hurt. Though the bone cracker we go to has really helped my back injury. :thumbsup:

Later,
Dan

Hey, every once in a while as you are blading, stop and turn your head all the way to the left as far as you can. Help it out with your arm if you need to. This will keep things evened out and you will feel a whole lots better, even more better, that evening or the next day.

 

[leonz]

You should be wearing a good quality dust mask 3M model 93 or a 3M welding fumes mask when operating and apply the brakes and shut it down when you are working around it when stopped.

The issue is that you do not have an exhaust gas scrubber and thew fumes are no healthy period if a catalytic scrubber or water scrubber is not used.

You can purchase catalytic scrubbers for your engine size if wish to do so.


leonz

 

[Eagleview]

Anybody else get headaches from diesel fumes? Seems like almost every time I work with my tractor I wake up with a headache. I'm trying to figure out if it's the diesel fumes or what. I've taken to turning it off rather than letting it idle when I'm working on the ground near it for more than a few minutes even though it is wear and tear on the starter system.

Not sure if the diesel is the cause of the headaches or not but sure seems like it. It blows right out the front there. I actually don't mind the smell of clean diesel fumes but I guess it's not really meant for humans to be breathing.

Just came across this thread , do you think it may be the fumes coming from the crankcase breather ? I changed the oil in my excavator once and immediately started to get headaches and sore eyes . I found it was the fumes from the engine . I took the remainder of the oil back too BP and asked them to test it . They said I was wrong but I refused to pay for the 5 drums on my account that I had bought unless they did . I spoke in person to their chemist a couple of weeks later , he said no wonder I was being affected , the Sulphur levels in the oil were 3 times higher than normal , they deleted the bill . I changed the oil to GTX Super and had no more trouble .

 

[Rob-D]

I believe most modern tractors vent the crankcase back into the intake.

Rob