Global Phaseout of Leaded Petrol Elisa Dumitrescu United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), PCFV Clearing-House Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles

Urban Air Quality Worldwide ° 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. Nairobi CBD, 2005 Thomas Harrison-Prentice

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 CO 2 emissions globally...

Asthma Attacks and Bronchitis Developmental Effects Hospitalization Premature Deaths Cancer Health Effects

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

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 Loss in average statistical life expectancy (months) due to identified anthropogenic PM 2.5

September 2002: 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.” The PCFV: Background & Mission Cleaner Fuels + Cleaner Vehicles = Reductions in polluting emissions/better urban air quality Launch of Global Lead Campaign, Promotion of sulphur reductions in fuels (support for region and country goals with ultimate goal of 50 ppm or below) Cleaner vehicle technology

Industry Governments Int. Organisations Partners NGOs

The Partnership provides networking, technical and financial assistance to governments, international organizations and NGOs for the promotion of lead phase-out. Specifically, this means: Technical, networking (including experts), and funding support for regional and national workshops, seminars and training sessions aimed at developing and implementing action plans for the elimination of leaded gasoline, the reduction of sulphur and the promotion of cleaner vehicles and vehicle technology; Support for specific activities, such as awareness campaigns and demonstration heavy duty diesel vehicle retrofit projects aimed at demonstrating cleaner vehicle technology and lower emissions; Global Working Groups developing resources on Sulphur Reduction in Fuels, Public Awareness, Octane, and Leaded Gasoline Phaseout: Valve Seat Recession; Annual Global Partnership Meetings Partnership Activities

Regional and sub-regional events for Lead Phaseout National technical expert groups Public awareness campaigns and environmental training events Santiago, Chile Diesel Bus & Truck Retrofit Project (USEPA) Training on Cleaner Vehicles in Bulgaria Support

Support, ctd. UNEP Urban Air Quality Projects Study on Nairobi Vehicle Emissions Air Quality Workshops and Air Quality Monitoring in Tanzania and Ghana Study of soil lead levels and blood lead levels in and around Nairobi, Kenya Hybrid Vehicles Report (forthcoming) Tools for Retrofit and Cleaner Bus Fleets (forthcoming) & upcoming regional training for bus fleet managers to be held in Turkey; Upcoming Sulphur and Octane reports; Decommissioning of TEL equipment (planned).

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; And enable 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.

Complete elimination of lead additive from petrol is the first step 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 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. Cleaner Fuels - Unleaded Petrol

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 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. Lead in Petrol: Health Effects EGYPT: Estimated Annual Health Effects: Heart Attacks - 6,500 to 11,600 Strokes to 1,400 Premature Deaths (Adults) - 6,300 to 11,100 Infant Deaths - ~820 Average IQ Loss in Children Points

Ambient Pb Concentrations in Bangkok and Pb in Gasoline from Premium ULG was introduced in 1991 Regular ULG was introduced in 1993 Complete phase out of regular leaded gasoline in 1993 Complete phase out of premium leaded gasoline in 1995 Michael Walsh

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

Status of Lead in CEE

Leaded Petrol Worldwide

Progress in Africa

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 International Experience

The Systems Approach: 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

Catalytic Converters, CEE * Information as of 2005

Other Considerations 1. Concerns over possible Valve Seat Recession (VSR) in older vehicles: Most 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 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 -

2. 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) 3. 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 must be evaluated for health and vehicle effects; 4. Benzene: Cost-effective refinery solutions that increase octane without increasing benzene emissions exist – catalytic converters decrease 90-95% of benzene and other aromatic emissions in exhaust; Other Considerations, ctd.

US: 1989 estimates Health benefits of reducing US population BLL by 1 µg/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 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 $ $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. Cost-Benefit of Going Unleaded

Low 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: SO 2 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.

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

Global Trends for Sulphur in Fuels, ctd. US: 2006 sulphur in gasoline avg. 30 ppm, cap of 80 ppm; diesel 15 ppm cap by June 2006; coincide with US Tier II standards for cars, light-trucks, and sport-utility vehicles. Europe: “Zero sulphur” introduced in 2005 for both petrol and diesel; 10 ppm maximum allowable by 2009; widespread already in Europe due to tax incentives. Michael Walsh IFQC, 2005

Diesel Technology For new diesel vehicles, progress made in reducing diesel engine emissions by improving diesel technology (advanced high-pressure fuel injection, lightweight materials, advanced transmissions, low-resistance tires, etc.); + Exhaust Treatment Technologies Oxidation Catalyst (also used on flex fuel vehicles and CNG); can operate with fuel sulphur levels of 500 ppm, maximum effectiveness is reached with 50 ppm or less fuel sulphur. Reductions of PM by diesel oxidation catalysts range between 20-50%, with reductions in HC and CO of between 60-90%. MECA

Diesel Technology, ctd. Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF): Filter out PM and are usually paired with catalysts. DPF’s work best when sulphur levels are less than 15 ppm, but still operate at 95% efficiency with 50 ppm sulphur fuel. Reduce PM by %. Around the world, more than 200,000 DPFs have been installed as retrofits and more than 1 million DPF-equipped cars have been sold in Europe. DPFs have also been used successfully on a variety of off-road engines since the mid-1980s. (MECA) MECA

Other Diesel Technology... Flow-Through Filters: relatively new, PM reduction 30-70% Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR): Can reduce NOx emissions by 75 to 90 percent, HC emissions by up to 80 percent, and PM emissions by 20 to 30 percent. NOx Adsorbers: catalyst technology; Nox reductions up to 90% Cleaner fuels also enable... State of the art vehicles with low emissions: hybrids, modern diesels (Euro 5) Retrofit options for existing heavy-duty diesels with DOC’s, DPF’s or a combination (London, NYC, Mexico City, Beijing, Santiago) - significant decrease in PM emissions Diesel Technology, ctd.

Potential Possible Actions: Acceleration of 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 - greater access to the PCFV network of experts

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.

Information: Website

PCFV Clearing-House Urban Environment Unit Division of Policy Development and Law (DPDL) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) P.O Box Nairobi, KENYA Tel: ( ) Thank you!