--- title: VW Emissions Scandal May Have Killed 60, Study Says description: Environmental study finds emissions could have helped cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S. alone canonical: https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-29T15:36:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:19.328Z article:section: Science og:title: VW Emissions Cheating Scandal May Have Deadly Impact, Study Says og:description: Environmental study finds emissions could have helped cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S. alone og:url: https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: VW Emissions Cheating Scandal May Have Deadly Impact, Study Says twitter:description: Environmental study finds emissions could have helped cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S. alone twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # VW Emissions Cheating Scandal May Have Deadly Impact, Study Says > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=d6823a45-7b67-4ebe-bef1-36fa2d6275e0&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Know Right Now: Volkswagen CEO Steps Down [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Volkswagen CEO Steps Down](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ILSL08Yq.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-09-18. VW announced that 11 million cars have devices that trick cars into emitting less smog during testing_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 29, 2015 3:36 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Oct 29, 2015 3:36 PM UTC Pollution from vehicles at the center of Volkswagen’s ongoing emissions scandal may have contributed to 60 premature deaths in the United States, according to new research. The new [study](http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/11/114005), published in the journal _Environmental Research Letters_, also suggests that as many as 130 additional people may die if the company doesn’t fix the problem by the end of 2016\. The emissions problem will also add nearly half a billion dollars in social costs, researchers found. In early September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed the car manufacturer had installed devices in its diesel vehicles that cheated emissions tests. The software, called a “defeat device,” triggered reduced emissions of the pollutant nitrogen oxide only when a Volkswagen vehicle was undergoing an emissions test. The vehicles would pass the government-mandated tests while actually emitting 40 times as much pollutants as the Clean Air Act permits. Volkswagen pushed back against the study’s claims in a [statement](http://news.health.com/2015/10/29/vw-emissions-scandal-may-cost-60-u-s-lives-study-claims/) to _Health_ magazine: “General allegations regarding links between \[nitrogen oxide\] emissions from these affected vehicles and specific health effects are unverified. We have received no confirmed reports that the emissions from such vehicles may cause any actual health problem.” Experts were careful to note that nitrogen oxide emissions from Volkswagen vehicles are one of a range of factors contributing to premature deaths. The harmful chemicals exacerbate problems caused by particulate matter, small solids and liquids that pollute the air, and are a risk factor for lung cancer and other cardiopulmonary ailments. People are significantly more vulnerable to the Volkswagen emissions in cities than in rural parts of the country, researchers found. Study author Steven Barrett, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says that the results will help determine how the U.S. federal government may fine Volkswagen. “You want the fines to significantly exceed the level damage,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/"},"headline":"VW Emissions Cheating Scandal May Have Deadly Impact, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-10-29T15:36:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:19.328Z","description":"Environmental study finds emissions could have helped cause 60 premature deaths in the U.S. alone","url":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/","keywords":["Environment","Public Health"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/","name":"VW Emissions Cheating Scandal May Have Deadly Impact, Study Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Volkswagen CEO Steps Down","description":"VW announced that 11 million cars have devices that trick cars into emitting less smog during testing","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ILSL08Yq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-09-18T18:06:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ILSL08Yq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4091437/premature-deaths-vw/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```