health standard in January 2001 designed to reduce diesel exhaust exposure in underground metal and nonmetal mines; on September 7, 2005, MSHA published a notice in the Federal Register proposing to postpone the effective date from January 2006 until January 2011. Sulfur content: Unlike international shipping, that has a Sulfur limit at 3.5% mass/mass outside ECA until 2020, where it reduces to 0,5% outside ECA, diesel for on road use and off road (heavy equipment) has been limited in all of EU since 2009. "Diesel and gasoline have been limited to 10 ppm sulfur since 2009 (for on-road vehicles) and 2011 (non-road vehicles). Mandatory specifications also apply to more than a dozen fuel parameters." Health concerns General concerns Emissions from diesel vehicles have been reported to be significantly more harmful than those from petrol vehicles. Diesel combustion exhaust is a source of atmospheric soot and fine particles, which is a component of the air pollution implicated in human cancer, heart and lung damage, and mental functioning. Moreover, diesel exhaust contains contaminants listed as carcinogenic for humans by the IARC (part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations), as present in their List of IARC Group 1 carcinogens. Diesel exhaust pollution is thought to account for around one quarter of the pollution in the air in previous decades, and a high share of sickness caused by automotive pollution. Occupational health effects Exposure to diesel exhaust and diesel particulate matter (DPM) is an occupational hazard to truckers, railroad workers, occupants of residential homes in vicinity of a rail yard, and miners using diesel-powered equipment in underground mines. Adverse health effects have also been observed in the general population at ambient atmospheric particle concentrations well below the concentrations in occupational settings. In March 2012, U.S. government scientists showed that underground miners exposed to high levels of diesel fumes have a threefold increased risk for contracting lung cancer compared with those exposed to low levels. The $11.5 million Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study (DEMS) followed 12,315 miners, controlling for key carcinogens such as cigarette smoke, radon, and asbestos. This allowed scientists to isolate the effects of diesel fumes. For over 10 years, concerns have been raised in the USA regarding children's exposure to DPM as they ride diesel-powered school buses to and from school. In 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Clean School Bus USA initiative in an effort to