Drive against leaded gasoline uncertain

JAKARTA (JP): Despite the government's promise to free Jakarta from leaded gasoline starting Sunday, Jakartans will still inhale the poisonous substance from vehicle exhausts as the drive to free the city from leaded fuel will not materialize until the end of July.

A spokesman of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, M. Alwi Adil, said on Thursday that the failure to meet the target was caused by technical difficulties in cleaning the residue of leaded gasoline from refinery plants and gas stations.

Pertamina, Alwi said, had actually stopped injecting lead into its refinery plant in Balongan, West Java, which supplies Jakarta with fuel, since June 15. The refinery, he said, started piping unleaded fuel to Jakarta on Wednesday.

"However, it would still be mixed with leaded fuel because gas stations still have the remaining leaded gasoline," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

"But hopefully, in the first week of July, all gasoline supplied by gas stations in the capital really will be free from lead," Alwi added.

However, an official at Pertamina's directorate of downstream industries, Nurfai, said earlier that it would take from six months up to one year to really clean up the repository at the Balongan refinery plant.

"The Balongan refinery still contains lead. Based on experience in the United States, it can take up to four years to really rid refinery plants of lead," he told reporters on the sidelines of a discussion on unleaded gasoline.

Fuel from Balongan refinery plant, however, is enough to supply about 180 gas stations out of a total of 382 gas stations in the city. The remaining supplies for Jakarta gas stations come from Pertamina's refinery in Cilacap, Central Java.

The total fuel consumption of all gas stations in the capital reaches some 17,000 kiloliter of premix per month and some 240,000 kiloliters of premium per month.

"Hopefully, all gas stations will soon receive supplies of unleaded fuel. If something happens with the refinery in Balongan, there is a backup supply from Cilacap, Central Java," Nurfai said.

He explained that Pertamina would also clean up Cilacap plant from lead.

Lead is added to fuel because it is a cheap way to boost engine performance. However, it causes environmental and health problems and leads to impaired intelligence among children.

The substitute is a chemical substance called High Octane Mogas Component (HOMC), which is more expensive though more environmentally-friendly.

Although Jakarta will not be totally free from leaded gasoline, the government is to proceed with the launching of unleaded gasoline in the capital on Sunday.

The inauguration is to be held at City Hall and will be followed with the filling of certain gas stations with unleaded gasoline, according to Ahmad Safrudin, chief executive of the Committee for Leaded Fuel Eradication.

But many people, including attendants at several gas stations said they were not aware of the government's plan to free Jakarta from leaded gasoline.

"I think I've heard about it but I'm not sure what it is exactly," said Samari, an operator at Kemandoran gas station in West Jakarta

Samari said that the owner of the gas station was invited by Pertamina earlier on Tuesday for a briefing on the use of leaded gasoline.

"I read the invitation and was wondering what unleaded gasoline was," he asserted.

Attendants at Petamburan and Pejompongan gas stations also made similar comments.

"We're only operators of the gas station. I think unleaded gas is the boss' responsibility," Jaka, an attendant at Petamburan gas station, said.

A minivan driver even said that he was surprised and that he had never heard about unleaded gasoline.

"Is the price higher than the usual gasoline? If so, we should protest again," said the driver.

The government has decided to subsidize unleaded gasoline so that its price will remain the same at Rp 1,450 (13 U.S. cents) per liter for unleaded premium and Rp 1,900 per liter for unleaded premix.

Following the initiative in Jakarta, the government has commited itself to freeing the whole country from leaded gasoline in the year 2003. (hdn/bby/emf/jun)