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Particulates in diesel exhaust are a substantial cause of the negative health effects traced to air pollution, above all in traffic environments. Diesel exhaust contains a number of extremely tiny particles about 1/10,000 mm in diameter, with chemical compounds bound to the surface that have been suggested to lie behind the ability of these particles to cause harmful health effects.

Individuals with lung or heart disease are especially vulnerable and are impacted most negatively during periods with high levels of air pollution. In his dissertation, H?kan T?rnqvist studied the effects of diesel exhaust on healthy individuals and respective patient groups with chronic obstructive lung disease (COL) and coronary disease with atherosclerosis in the coronary artery.

The aim of the studies in the dissertation was to use controlled exposure studies to try to elucidate the mechanisms that explain why diesel exhaust particulates in polluted air cause increased morbidity in both lung and heart diseases. The studies were carried out in an exposure chamber, where the individuals were exposed for one hour to, respectively, diesel exhaust with a particulate concentration of about 300 µg/m3 and filtered air. The two exposures were in random order, so the individuals served as their own controls.
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