Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler are breathless over the latest diesel scandal. An organization backed by BMW, VW, Daimler and Bosch tested diesel fumes on monkeys. In another study in Germany humans were exposed to nitrogen dioxide.
During May 2015 the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) in New Mexico locked 10 Java monkeys in small airtight chambers for four hours at a time. The monkeys watched cartoons as they breathed in diesel fumes from a VW Beetle. The goals was to prove that the nitrogen dioxide car emissions from diesel engines was decreased due to the purported diesel cleaning technology.
The monkeys also had to breathe in the fumes of a Ford F-250 to compare the effects.
LRRI did not publish the research because the research was compromised by the Vokswagen diesel scandal.
VW reported that the study was paid for by European Research Group on Environment and Health in the Transport Sector (EUGT), an institute established by the BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler and Bosch. The EUGT was dissolved in June 2016
Süddeutsche Zeitung reported the experiments were also carried out on 25 young and healthy human beings. They were given concentrations of nitrogen dioxide at Aachen University’s research hospital.
“I will do everything possible to ensure that this matter is investigated in detail,” Volkswagen supervisory board Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch said in a statement on Monday.
“We are appalled by the nature and extent of the studies and their implementation. We condemn the experiments in the strongest terms,” the Daimler told media reporters.
‘These tests … are in no ethical way justifiable and they raise many critical questions about those who are behind the tests,” said Steffen Seibert, a spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Volkswagen received various fines including a Tech CARS’ (Edsel Yugo) Award for spoofing smog checks on diesel vehicles through software.