Global Phaseout of Leaded Petrol

1. Global Phaseout of Leaded Petrol Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles Ruslan Zhechkov Regional Environmental Center on behalf of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles

2. Urban Air Quality Worldwide Nairobi CBD, 2005 Thomas Harrison-Prentice • WHO: • Every year 1.5 billion urbanites breathe air that exceeds WHO standards; • Well over 800,000 deaths each year due to urban air pollution; • More than 70% of deaths from outdoor air pollution occur in the developing world; • Costs: • World health costs of urban air pollution are estimated to approach US$1 billion per year. • In developing countries the health effects of air pollution cost between 5% - 20% of GDP.

3. Transport and Air Quality • Almost half the world’s population now lives in cities; • Urban air pollution largely attributed to transport and industrial emissions; • Local pollution often severe; • Transboundary movement of pollutants such as PM, nitrogen, heavy metals, organic pollutants; • Leaded petrol responsible for up to 90% of urban Pb air emissions; • Key to climate change: Road transport is responsible for 1/5 - 1/4 of all CO2 emissions globally...

4. Health Effects Premature Deaths Cancer Developmental Effects Hospitalization Asthma Attacks and Bronchitis WHO: reducing levels of fine particles (PM10) can reduce air pollution deaths in cities by as much as 15% every year.

5. Transport & Air Quality: European Example Transport emissions of air pollutants • Air pollutant emissions in European countries decreased by 1/3 in the past decade (PM and ozone precursors down by 30-40% from 1990-2003); • Technical improvements/tighter standards for transport; • Cleaner fuels mainly impacted emissions from road transport - form of transport closest to people, therefore more exposure; • But overall growth in volume of concern...

6. Loss in average statistical life expectancy (months) due to identified anthropogenic PM 2.5 • Particulate Matter • Avg. 9 months of life expectancy lost • 4 million life years lost annually • 386,000 premature deaths annually • 110,000 serious hospital admissions annually • Ground-Level Ozone • 21,400 premature deaths annually

7. The Partnership: Background & Mission • September 2002: Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles launched at World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to: “Help developing countries to develop action plans to complete the global elimination of leaded gasoline and start to phase down sulphur in diesel and gasoline fuels, concurrent with adopting cleaner vehicle requirements.” • Launch of Global Lead Campaign: Phase out Worldwide by end 2008 • 2. Promotion of sulphur reduction in fuels (support for region and country goals with ultimate goal of 50 ppm or below) • 3. Cleaner vehicle technologies: • Catalytic converters, etc.

8. Industry Governments • NGOs Partners • Int. Organisations

9. Support • Global technical expert working groups • Public awareness campaigns and environmental training events • Santiago, Chile Diesel Bus & Truck Retrofit Project (USEPA) • Support to Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Albania

10. Vehicular Pollution Control Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles: A System for Better Air Quality • Cleaner fuels and vehicles most viable method of reducing vehicle emissions, air pollution today; • Lead-free and low-sulphur fuels affect emissions directly; • Andenable the use of cleaner vehicle technology such as catalytic converters, which can further reduce pollutants by around 90%; • Cleaner fuels (ultra-low sulphur petrol and diesel) allow for the use of latest high-fuel efficiency technology in vehicles. Advanced engines make 20-45% reduction in CO2 possible.

11. Cleaner Fuels - Unleaded Petrol • Complete elimination of lead additive from petrol is step 1 toward lower vehicle emissions; • TEL used to increase octane rating of petrol since 1920’s; • Phaseout began in the US in 1969 as health effects became known; • Catalytic converter technology introduced in US vehicles in1974, total US ban on leaded petrol in 1986; • Rio Earth summit of 1992 called for worldwide ban of leaded; • EU total ban on leaded petrol in 2000, WHO called for total ban in 2001; • But lead remains to be completely eliminated from petrol worldwide; in Europe: BiH, Serbia, and FYR Macedonia remaining.

12. Why Ban Leaded Petrol? 1. Health Effects • One of the primary anthropogenic sources of airborne lead emissions is leaded fuel (up to 90% in urban areas); • Affects mental health development, IQ and behavior of children (especially below 6 years old): toxicity even at low levels - even blood lead levels as low as 5 ug/dl can irreversibly impair brain development; • For each increase of 1ug/dl – loss of 0.25-0.5 IQ point, for each 10ug/dl – height decrease by 1 cm; • Adults: lead exposure - high blood pressure, increases in heart disease and damage to organs. • EGYPT: Estimated Annual Health Effects: • Heart Attacks - 6,500 to 11,600 • Strokes - 800 to 1,400 • Premature Deaths (Adults) - 6,300 to 11,100 • Infant Deaths - ~820 • Average IQ Loss in Children - 4.25 Points

13. Lead content in petrol (g/l) Blood Lead Level (µg/dl) 1985 1985 1995 1995 Hungary: declining blood lead levels after decrease of lead in petrol Lead levels in petrol in Hungary: 1985: 0.7 grams/ liter 1995: 0.15 grams per liter current EU level: .005 g/l

14. Status of Lead in CEE

15. Leaded Petrol Worldwide

16. International Experience • Gradual Phaseout: US, Canada, Japan, Brazil, France; • Immediate: Central America, parts of Africa, Thailand, China, India, Egypt (most cost-effective approach to decreasing airborne lead to near zero – avoids huge costs of parallel distribution systems); • China began the switch in cities to 100 % unleaded in 1997, then provinces and is now lead free nationally; • India began in Delhi in 1998 and is now unleaded nationally; • Thailand began incremental reductions in lead in fuel in 1991 and 1993 and banned in 1996; • Sweden reduced lead from .4.g’l to .15 g/l in 1970s along with tax differentiation (unleaded had lower pump price) – total switch in 1992 using lubricity additives for older cars; • Slovak Republic study revealed neurological development effects of leaded petrol – public education campaign and Slovnaft refinery adjustments led to complete ban in 1995.

17. Why Ban Leaded Petrol? 2. Cleaner Fuels Enable Cleaner Vehicle Technology • Cleaner fuels allow for more advanced vehicle emission standards and improved technology: • For petrol vehicles, 3-way catalysts used with the closed-loop air/fuel control systems. Standard technology on all new petrol cars. Lead poisons catalyst (even trace amounts), maximum efficiency at ultra-low (50 ppm or less) sulphur. MECA

18. Answers to Valve Seat Recession Concerns • Concerns over possible Valve Seat Recession (VSR) in older vehicles: • Modern engines now have re-designed, wear-resistant valve seat systems; • All but a small percentage of cars are now resistant to excessive valve seat wear (obsolete valve seats predicted to be 7.2% of total world vehicle population in 2006 - European manufacturers switched in mid-1980’s); • Studies have found that valve seat recession virtually absent in actual vehicle operation in normal everyday use (only present in laboratory extreme driving conditions); • No country has reported excessive valve seat wear or engine problems after eliminating lead in petrol. • See the PCFV report of the Valve Seat Recession Working Group for more info - www.unep.org/pcfv

19. Maintenance, Octane, and Benzene Emissions • Lower Maintenance Costs: • Unleaded petrol reduces the vehicle maintenance costs - less corrosive combustion products; • Leaded petrol causes corrosion to engine parts, more frequent oil changes, and the replacement of spark plugs, mufflers and exhaust; • Unleaded extends spark plug life from 6,000 miles to over 50,000 miles, and extends oil change intervals by a factor of 2 to 4. Reduced engine corrosion was predicted to improve engine life by an additional 50%. (MECA) • Octane: Options available depend on current and planned technology, include refinery operating changes, new refinery equipment, addition of additives – how much octane is needed?Kenya and the US lowered octane levels. Additives (ethanol, oxygenates, and metals) must be compared for emissions and vehicle effects; • Benzene: Cost-effective refinery solutions that increase octane without increasing benzene emissions exist – catalytic converters further decrease 90-95% of benzene and other aromatic emissions in exhaust;

20. Cost-Benefit of Going Unleaded • US: 1989 estimates Health benefits of reducing US population BLL by 1µg/dl amounted to $172 billion annually - estimates by EPA that benefits of phaseout exceeded costs more than ten times (avoided health costs and wage loss); • Mexico: reduction of airborne lead levels and improvement in health in Mexico City 1993 - net benefits in health and vehicle maintenance reduction $1.022 million; • Most significant costs of lead phaseout are the costs of alternate octane values and modification of refinery production facilities (range from USD $0.01 - $0.02 per liter of petrol including costs of refinery upgrade, unleaded fuel production and octane additives) BUT refinery upgrade pays for itself in a short period through increased productivity and efficiency.

21. Lower Sulphur • Diesel sulphur levels in Europe can be as low as 10 ppm while in developing countries levels reach 10,000 ppm... • Lowering sulphur • 1. Lowers Emissions From Existing Vehicles: • SO2 From All Vehicles • PM From Diesel Vehicles • CO, HC, NOx From All Catalyst Vehicles • 2. Enables Advanced Vehicle After-treatment technologies below 500 ppm & Tighter Standards For New Vehicles; • 3. Enables Retrofit of Existing Heavy-Duty Vehicles; • 4. Low sulphur petrol enhances functioning of three-way catalysts (maximum efficiency at near-zero sulphur levels); • 5. Extends life of the engine.

22. Sulphur Reduction Engine Benefits Going from 10,000 to 5,000 ppm sulphur diesel, engine life is expected to increase by over 40%

23. The Future of Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles in BiH • Possible Actions Towards Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles: Ban on lead in petrol, cleaner fuel incentives, plan for sulphur reduction, fuel adulteration, renewal of the vehicle fleet (incentives for cleaner vehicles), improved systems for inspection and maintenance of vehicles, capacity building on cleaner fuel and vehicle issues in civil society and at municipal level, awareness on lead health effects and need for phaseout • PCFV Support Includes: • Access to Tools, Research, Awareness Information • Support for activities - training, working groups, cross-sectoral dialogue and partnerships • Join the PCFV for greater access to the PCFV network of experts

24. Why Join? • Public/Private Global Initiative cooperating to successfully address cleaner fuel and vehicle issue for better air quality; • Network with government, industry, international organizations and civil society on these issues; • Notification of PCFV and related events and activities, including Global Partnership Meetings; • Access to technical Working Groups.

25. Information: www.unep.org/pcfv

26. Thank you! PCFV Clearing-House Urban Environment Unit Division of Policy Development and Law (DPDL) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) P.O Box 30552 Nairobi, KENYA Tel: (+254 20) 7624735 Elisa.Dumitrescu@unep.org www.unep.org/pcfv