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22. A global
ban on leaded petrol was the motivation for the first leaded consumer product
action taken by the United Nations. In 2002 Rio+10 Summit agreed to setting
up the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) which has as its
primary goal the elimination of leaded petrol.
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As of June 2011,
there remained 6 countries still selling leaded petrol but as one of the
Partners, The LEAD Group, has gained the cooperation of one Australian lead
mining company this year, such that their Australian lead is no longer being
used to make leaded petrol.
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Leaded petrol
vehicle emissions fallout lives on in our soils, building dusts (house dust
etc) and in building cavities (cavity dust or ceiling dust), and in our
waterways as contaminated sediments – both ceiling dusts and harbour
sediments have been found to contain “mineable” levels of lead – i.e.,
sufficient lead, more than 1.5% to justify recycling building cavity /
ceiling dust or sediment for the lead content. This petrol lead, if not first
safely removed, is released back in to the environment each time a building
is demolished or into the water and aquatic biota when a waterway is dredged.
Petrol lead is the most widespread cause of lead-contaminated soil and lead
is the most common contaminant found in soil.
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