Yahoo – AFP,
Michelle FITZPATRICK, 29 January 2018
 |
| Volkswagen is back under a diesel cloud following reports it helped finance tests of car exhaust fumes that used monkeys and humans |
German
carmakers came under fire Monday following revelations they helped finance
experiments that saw humans and monkeys exposed to diesel fumes that have been
linked to asthma, lung diseases and heart attacks.
The
disclosures sparked widespread outrage, led by Chancellor Angela Merkel who
strongly condemned the latest controversy to engulf the nation's powerful but
scandal-tainted auto industry.
"These
tests on monkeys or even humans are in no way ethically justified," said
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert.
"The
indignation felt by many people is completely understandable."
Earlier
Monday the Sueddeutsche and Stuttgarter Zeitung dailies reported that a
research group funded by Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW had ordered a study in
Germany measuring the effects of inhaling nitrogen oxide gases on 25 healthy
human beings.
The revelation
came just days after the New York Times wrote that the same organisation
carried out tests on monkeys in the United States in 2014.
According
to the NYT article, the researchers locked 10 monkeys into airtight chambers
and made them breathe in diesel exhausts from a VW Beetle while watching
cartoons.
Volkswagen
apologised for the animal testing at the weekend, saying the group
"distances itself clearly from all forms of animal abuse".
Special
meeting
The German
government has called a special meeting with the affected car companies to ask
them to explain themselves, said acting transport minister Christian Schmidt.
"This
has once again damaged trust in the auto industry," he said.
It was VW's
admission in 2015 that it had manipulated 11 million diesel cars with cheating
software to make them seems less polluting than they were that brought close
scrutiny to the industry, which had long touted diesels as better for the
environment than gasoline-powered engines.
All three
German carmakers scrambled to distance themselves from the research body in
question -- the now defunct European Research Group on Environment and Health
in the Transport Sector (EUGT) -- and promised to launch internal
investigations.
"We
are appalled by the extent of the studies and their implementation," a
Daimler spokesman told AFP.
"The
BMW Group did not participate in the mentioned studies," the luxury
carmaker said in a statement, while VW said the EUGT was set up to be an
"independent" research body.
Although it
was the EUGT that commissioned both tests, the organisation itself was financed
by the trio of car giants hoping its research would defend diesel's green
reputation -- and the valuable tax breaks that go with it.
The car
companies decided in late 2016 to dissolve the EUGT, which shut its doors last
year.
'No
significant effects'
The tests
involving 25 human volunteers were carried out at a university hospital in the
German city of Aachen in 2013 and 2014.
As part of
the study, the participants were exposed for several hours to different levels
of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) -- the most toxic form of nitrogen oxide and commonly
found in diesel exhausts.
The
researchers detected "no significant effects", according to a summary
of the study.
But Thomas
Kraus, the head of the relevant department at the university hospital in
Aachen, told German media the findings were limited as they weren't
representative of the wider population and didn't take into account general air
pollution.
The
institute separately released a statement stressing the study had been approved
by the university hospital's ethics commission and was not linked to any diesel
emissions testing.
The study
was about improving "workplace safety" for people like truck drivers,
mechanics or welders, it said, adding that the levels of NO2 inhaled by the
test subjects were "well below those found in many workplaces in
Germany".
The World
Health Organization says on its website there is "growing evidence" that
nitrogen dioxide exposure "can increase symptoms of bronchitis and asthma,
as well as lead to respiratory infections and reduced lung function and
growth."
Exposure is
"linked to premature mortality... from cardiovascular and respiratory
diseases," it states.
'Absurd'
The premier
of Lower Saxony, whose state is home to VW's Wolfsburg headquarters and is one
of the group's biggest shareholders, echoed Berlin's repudiation of the tests.
The
experiments are "absurd and disgusting" said Stephan Weil, whose
state holds two seats on VW's supervisory board.
He reminded
the VW group that it "must meet all ethical requirements".
The latest
scandal "will have a lasting impact on the public's trust in the auto
industry," predicted analyst Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the Center for
Automotive Research.
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