A research organization funded by German carmakers sponsored scientific experiments testing nitrogen dioxide, a gas found in exhaust fumes, on people, German daily Stuttgarter Zeitung said.
The European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) commissioned the study, the paper said.
Reporters could not immediately confirm the details of the study and a representative for the EUGT, which was dissolved last year, could not be reached for comment.
Photo: Bloomberg
The research organization received its funding from German carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW.
The purpose and outcome of the study remain unclear, but revelations about experiments involving people come as the auto industry faces bans of toxic diesel vehicles from inner cities following revelations in 2015 that Volkswagen manipulated emissions on diesel-engine cars.
Stuttgarter Zeitung said that about 25 healthy young people inhaled nitrogen dioxide in varying doses over a period of hours at an institute belonging to RWTH Aachen University.
The impact of the gas on people could not be determined when the study was published in 2016, the newspaper said.
Daimler on Sunday condemned the studies, which were conducted by the same research body that sponsored an experiment forcing monkeys to inhale toxic exhaust fumes from a polluting diesel Volkswagen equipped with illegal software.
“We are appalled by the extent of the studies and their implementation,” Daimler said in a statement. “We condemn the experiments in the strongest terms. Even though Daimler did not have influence on the study’s design, we have launched a comprehensive investigation into the matter.”
The New York Times on Friday reported about a trial conducted in 2014 in a US laboratory in which 10 monkeys inhaled diesel emissions from a Volkswagen Beetle.
BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen have condemned the emissions experiments involving monkeys.
“We apologize for the misconduct and the lack of judgment of individuals,” Volkswagen said in a statement. “We’re convinced the scientific methods chosen then were wrong. It would have been better to do without such a study in the first place.”
The New York Times said EUGT had commissioned a study to defend the use of diesel after the WHO said the fuel’s exhaust fumes were carcinogenic.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure