The proposed rules will be formally unveiled next spring and also will require oil refineries to produce a low-sulfur diesel fuel required for anti-pollution devices, according to the newspaper.

The new restrictions would bring standards for bulldozers, tractors and other off-road diesel-powered vehicles in line with new rules for heavy-duty diesel trucks and buses, The Post said.

An EPA spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.

Diesel engines emit a mixture of gases and fine particles that contain some 40 chemicals, including benzene, butadiene, dioxin and mercury compounds.

The EPA released a report in September that concluded for the first time that diesel exhaust is a likely human carcinogen. Diesel fumes can also cause eye irritation, nausea and respiratory problems.

The EPA report, based on exposure to exhaust from diesel engines built before the mid-1990s, did not attempt to quantify the cancer risk.

Last year, the EPA issued standards to clean up dirty diesel trucks and buses, which it said would prevent more than 360,000 asthma attacks and 8,300 premature deaths annually.