[redpoint5]

The problem with the studies is they haven't sufficiently controlled the variables.

Studying miners in a confined space, breathing diesel fumes 10hrs a day isn't a good predictor of the amount of exposure regular folks inhale in day to day living, and what the consequences are.

There's no possible way to put a number of deaths that diesel particulates are responsible for, not to say it isn't happening.

A heart attack triggered by diesel particulate inhalation which results in death doesn't mean the diesel particulates have killed the person; it's entirely likely it's the straw that broke the camel's back, and the person would have succumbed to poor health in the near future.

Again, not saying we should not concern ourselves with the quest for cleaner air, only saying that the issue is too complex to simply say millions of people are dying as a direct result of pollution. How much longer would these people have lived if they had been exposed to 1/4 as much pollution? We'll probably never know.