Indonesia's timely decision to phase out leaded gasoline

Rob de Jong, Nairobi, Kenya

The United Nations Environment Programme is spearheading a partnership to promote clean fuels and vehicles; this seventy- strong partnership is composed of governments, the private sector, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations. We would like to congratulate the Indonesian government and support its recent decision to phase-out leaded gasoline nationwide.

We would also like to clarify some of the issues surrounding lead-phase out.

Lead has traditionally been added to fuel as an "anti- knocking" agent to enhance smoother engine operation through an increase of the fuel's octane rating. However, research into various vehicle models and types have proven that they can all run perfectly well without lead as an additive in gasoline and operate without any problems.

Claims of engine wear and other problems (such as Valve Seat Recession) from the use of unleaded gasoline have been investigated and have found to be a non-issue; on the contrary, these modern unleaded fuels are better for your engine as they don't deposit lead on the various engine parts and so save on maintenance costs (a less frequent need to change spark plugs is an example of this).

When using leaded gasoline, a vehicle emits small lead particles into the air from its exhaust; thus lead can enter the respiratory system and also settle on grown produce that when ingested, finds its way into the human system. Data on the toxic effects of lead on health and the environment is overwhelming and readily available; these include reduced brain development in children and irreversible damage to the kidney and liver, often resulting in the failure of the organ, in adults.

In the nineteen-seventies, the hazardous impacts of lead on health and the environment emerged and were more fully understood; developed countries incorporated legislation to ban its use as a fuel additive, a case in point is the United States with the incorporation of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

However, as one of the first countries to undertake and pioneer this change, this process took a long time because of court cases, legislation and further studies into the issue; the U.S. experience showed that there were no major constraints in using unleaded fuel.

In the developing world today, countries have the option of going unleaded overnight if they so choose as unleaded gasoline accounts for 90 percent of the total gasoline sold worldwide and is available for shipping to any destination at a lower price than leaded fuel.

In some developing countries that refine their own fuel, experience has shown that simple measures can be taken to ensure that lead is not necessary as an additive in gasoline refining. The World Bank, UNEP and OECD estimate that the additional cost per liter of unleaded fuel in these older refineries is no more than 1 to 2 U.S. cents; this processing cost is almost independent of the price of oil.

The air pollution problems in Asian cities are well known and documented, it is believed that the majority of Asian cities don't have an acceptable level of outdoor air quality. The WHO estimates that 4-8 percent of deaths in the Asia and the Pacific region are attributed to air pollution, this translates to some 487,000 people annually.

India for example spends US$100 billion a year on treatment of diseases caused by air pollution; the cost of air pollution in China is estimated at 7 percent of Gross domestic product and is estimated to grow to 13 percent of GDP by 2020. While there are many sources that contribute to air pollution in cities, the main contributor is the motor vehicle. There are technologies used worldwide to reduce the emissions of vehicles; the catalytic converter can reduce these emissions that include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and unburnt hydrocarbons by some 90 percent.

However, to be able to use the catalytic converter which is now standard equipment on most motor vehicles, one needs unleaded fuel as lead breaks down the catalytic converter. So, in effect, the removal of lead is not only of benefit because of the toxic qualities of lead, but unleaded gasoline would allow for the use of catalytic converters in vehicles which would in turn result in a drastic improvement of overall air quality in cities and towns.

There are many benefits of changing to unleaded fuel. To illustrate the economic and environmental benefits of going unleaded, the World Bank studied the case of the United States: It was found that for every $1 invested in the phase-out effort, $10 was saved in medical costs and resulted in increased productivity and environmental health. In this light, there are no economic justifications for a delay in the phase-out of lead in gasoline.

At present, 90 percent of the world is unleaded, the remaining developed and developing countries are making great efforts to phase-out leaded gasoline. Indonesia is one of the last countries in Asia to still use leaded gasoline.

In fact, apart from a fast declining number of countries in Africa & the Middle East, there are no more than a handful of other nations worldwide that use leaded fuel, and for good reason.

Countries have found that switching to unleaded fuel has been problem-free and beneficial. It will just be a matter of time before leaded fuel will become unavailable on the world market. All these facts distillate to one overall conclusion: There is an urgent need to phase-our leaded fuel in Indonesia because of economic, technical and environmental reasons.

The writer is staff expert at United Nations Environment Programme/Clearing House of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles. This view is personal.