The World Health Organization has reclassified the dangers of diesel exhaust fumes and upgraded the cancer risk.

Based on research findings for workers in high-risk areas, the World Health Organization has upgraded the risk caused by diesel fumes from probably carcinogenic to a definite cause of cancer.

According to the WHO, this puts a sharp focus on the need for effective monitoring in industries such as mining, rail, transportation, construction, power generation and others where there is a reliance on diesel as a source of fuel.

The research into diesel exhaust fumes was conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It concluded diesel exhausts were definitely a cause of lung cancer, and may also cause tumors in the bladder.