Diesel Exhaust Fumes And Respitory Problems?

Does anyone know how bad the diesel fumes are when trucking? I don't think you would drive down a highway and breath in diesel fumes with your windows are closed. If anything its fresh air inside the cab or is it not?

I hear some truckers get respiratory problems while sleeping in the cab or unloading on the dock with the truck running. I would like to reduce my exposure to the fumes since I have asthma.

Anyone experience any respiratory problems?

Diesel fumes and exhuast is just a part of our job. Unless you plan on walking around in a plastic oxygen bag over your head then you will be exposed. Even if you dont idle there will always be people that do idle their trucks and nothing you can do about it. Sure if your at a truck stop you could find a parking spot but there is no guarantee Someone wont park next to you and idle their truck. While in a dock you can not move your truck while loading/unloading so you are stuck there. Though you can try and limit your exposure its an unwritten guarantee that you know you will be around diesel fumes. Either learn to put up with it or dont get into trucking.

But seriously you could trying the plastic bag on your head like i first mentioned. :D i would love to see that. I meed a goolaugh.gh

Guyjax is right like always.

It really is just a part of the job. No one ever said that this is a healthy lifestyle - it's not. You will always have trucks around you idling no matter what the weather is. It's usually the older trucks, they don't have an APU or bunk heater so they have to idle to stay warm.

You also get a diesel odor when you're fueling. Some places are worse than others but whenever you fuel you can usually always smell some of the fumes coming from it.

There's honestly no escaping it. It seems that just about every trucker smokes as well, so you'll be having to walk through that sometimes. It's not a thing you can avoid, you can try and believe me I do try, but it's inevitable.

I think the worst is in the summer time when 90% of the trucks are idling and you have to walk through the parking lot. It doesn't get much worse than that, can be quite difficult to breathe in that situation.

Try the white plastic bag. It can help if you don't feel like breathing, that's just about the only way to avoid the fumes.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I would recommend having your inhaler with you at all times and invest in a nebulizer machine for the hard times. I don't know how good it would work, but what about a respirator, the kind they sell at home depot or lowes. Hope that helps.

Does anyone know how bad the diesel fumes are when trucking? I don't think you would drive down a highway and breath in diesel fumes with your windows are closed. If anything its fresh air inside the cab or is it not?

I hear some truckers get respiratory problems while sleeping in the cab or unloading on the dock with the truck running. I would like to reduce my exposure to the fumes since I have asthma.

Anyone experience any respiratory problems?

go to www.truckmonoxide.com, a month ago I had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, fumes coming into cab