Monkeys in the exhaust gas test: People were also exposed to exhaust gas tests

01/29/2018

Monkeys in the exhaust test People were also exposed to emissions tests

DPA

Diesel exhaust on the VW Golf 7

It should be in the exhaust scandal Diesel pollutant tests not only with monkeysbut also with people. This emerges from a report by the association EUGT, reported on the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. About two and a half years after the beginning of the exhaust scandal This always brings new details to light.

According to reports, the companies VW, Daimler and BMW European Research Association for Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT) has promoted a “short-term inhalation study with nitrogen dioxide in healthy people”. This is stated in a report published as an activity report for the years 2012 to 2015.

25 people were examined at an institute of the Aachen University Hospital after inhaling nitric oxide (NO2) at different concentrations for several hours each. According to the EUGT, which was dissolved in 2017, no effect was found.

However, the director of the institute, Thomas Kraus, told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” that the study published in 2016 had only limited relevance. On the one hand, the findings could not be applied to the entire population and, on the other hand, nitrogen dioxide was only a part of the total air pollution.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is the pollutant whose measurements of VW in the USA been manipulated for years to officially comply with the legal limits for diesel vehicles.

VW apologizes for attempts, Daimler shows “shaken”

Previously had Animal experiments in the test of diesel exhaust raised broad outrage. They became known through US investigations into the VW emissions scandal. Monkeys were specifically exposed to pollutants.

The tests with the monkeys were part of a study, which should prove that the diesel pollutant load has decreased significantly thanks to modern emission control. That’s why the EUGT – the lobbying initiative funded by VW, Daimler and BMW – had commissioned it from the US Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute. Leading was according to the study leader while VW.

VW apologized at the weekend for the experiments carried out in the US. “We are convinced that the scientific method chosen at that time was wrong, it would have been better to forego such an investigation from the outset,” the group said on Saturday. Volkswagen Show stock market chart clearly distance yourself from all forms of animal cruelty. “We apologize for the misconduct and misjudgment of individuals.”

Also the carmaker Daimler Show stock market chart explicitly distanced himself from the studies and the EUGT. “We are shaken by the extent of the studies and their implementation,” it said in a statement. Daimler condemns the experiments in the strongest terms. “Even though Daimler had no influence on the experimental setup, we initiated a comprehensive investigation into how this could happen.”

VW Supervisory Board Stephan Weil: “Disgusting and absurd”

In the meantime, the call for an investigation of the allegations is getting louder in politics. The Lower Saxony Minister of Economics and VW Supervisory Board Bernd Althusmann (CDU) described the animal experiments in the test of diesel exhaust as “absurd and inexcusable.” Althusmann told the German Press Agency, he expected in addition to a complete education and a comprehensive report to the Supervisory Board “severe personnel consequences” for those who are responsible for these animal experiments.

The state of Lower Saxony is VW major shareholder. “Ten monkeys for hours wantonly inhale car exhaust to prove that the pollution allegedly decreased, is disgusting and absurd,” said Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister and VW Supervisory Board Stephan Weil (SPD) said.

The exhaust gas scandal started rolling in September 2015. At that time, VW admitted that it had manipulated exhaust emissions tests on millions of diesel vehicles. Volkswagen had this plunged into a serious crisis, the scandal has cost the company billions. In other car manufacturers, too, drastic deviations of the exhaust gas values between the test bench and the road were found. New registrations of diesel vehicles have been on the decline for months

la / dpa

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