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Lead, Cars and Petrol -
what you should know.
Many people are aware of the lead in petrol and are concerned
about what effect it may have on the health of their family. This is especially so if they
live on a busy road or their child attends a childcare centre in a "heavy
traffic" area. The Lead Advisory Service (NSW) will answer any questions that you may
have about lead, but here are some automotive "lead" facts of interest.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has set an
Australian National Goal for ALL Australians to have a blood lead level below
10 µg/dL (micrograms per decilitre). For every 10µg/dL of lead in the blood, experts
agree, that a child is at risk of losing between 2-3 IQ points. Lead also damages kidneys,
hearing and physical growth. It causes learning difficulties, behavioural problems, tooth
decay and many other long term serious health effects.
Children under the age of seven years are particularly at risk
of damage because their brains and nervous systems are still developing. Between 36,600
and 221,620 NSW preschoolers are estimated to have blood lead levels above 10µg/dL.
Allowing $5,190 in additional remedial education costs, lost
earning potential and additional health costs per IQ point lost, means that the estimated
cost to the community is between $303 million and $2.8 billion.
This does not include older children, adults or the cost of
even higher blood lead concentrations! ( Source: NSW EPA)
PETROL
The fallout from leaded petrol exhaust fumes not only pollutes
the air we breathe with microscopic lead particles (amongst other pollutants), it is also
responsible for adding to the lead content of household dust, soil and ceiling void dust
in our homes. Because of their extra hand to mouth activity this dust is a major
contamination pathway for small children, especially during renovation or demolition of
pre 1970 buildings when the dust from areas such as roof voids or wall cavities is
released. Add to this dust, the risk from lead paint that may also be disturbed during
works, and you have a typical case of a young urban child - lead poisoned by the
combination of sources of lead - paint, petrol and industry.
A recent Public Health Unit study found that children's blood
lead levels rise 1 µg/dL for every 10,000 cars per day going past their childcare centre.
(Cowie study, Sydney 1996).
Every gram of lead from petrol, put into the environment now
is adding to the thousands of tons of lead from petrol which already contaminates our
cities. So the lead petrol problem is not "going away" we're simply slowing down
the rate of further contamination of our children's environment.
Over 100,000 (40%) cars in NSW could be using unleaded petrol
(ULP), but are still using leaded. The NRMA recently published an article to help counter
the lead additive manufacturers media campaigns which try to persuade people that leaded
petrol is safer than unleaded. The levels of benzene in leaded and unleaded petrol in
Australia are essentially the same. Overseas examples are not relevant to Australia and
their situation is NOT OURS.
(Source: NRMA - Open Road March, 1996)
Check if your pre 1986 car is one that can immediately switch
to ULP.
Since 1993 the Federal government has made $352 million from
the leaded fuel tax which was levied because of the recognised health and environment
risks attributable to lead. This money could be used to subsidise the more environmentally
friendly MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) additive and lead education campaigns. At the
moment this lead fuel tax goes to consolidated revenue and less than 1% has been spent on
dealing directly with lead.
Old cars would not have to be retired and the new MTBE fuel
need not be any more expensive for consumers than leaded fuel is now.
They would just switch to the new product and everyone's lead
levels would start to decrease accordingly. There is ample evidence to suggest that the
general lead body burden of the population reduces in line with the reduction of lead in
petrol. This has been shown to occur dramatically in other countries where lead has been
removed from petrol.
Australian children are still dying and permanently injuring
their health by sniffing petrol. Although sniffing any petrol is harmful to health, its
the lead in petrol that kills or leaves petrol sniffers with permanent brain
damage. Transport plans need updating to encourage public transport and reduce the overall
need to travel by car. The gains made in Sydney's air quality by the introduction of ULP
and catalytic converters are being overtaken by the increase in the number of cars and the
distance travelled annually by each car. The amount of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions
produced by motor vehicles is 21%. Britain has recently made radical changes to its
transport policy to reduce dependence on the car, halving the budget for new roads.
The heavy metal pollution of Sydney Harbour is considered to
be contributed to significantly by urban run off, including the substantial amount of
leaded petrol exhaust particles which settle on roadways and are eventually washed into
stormwater drains and then our Harbour. Sydney waterway sediments have mineable levels of
lead and other heavy metals.
In August 1997 the new Clean Air Regulations were passed and
leaded fuel can contain a maximum of 0.2 g/L. Unleaded petrol can contain 0.013 g/L. Shell
half lead contains 0.1 g/L Australia is at risk of becoming the last developed country to
ban lead in petrol. Leaded petrol was banned in Japan in 1986, Austria in 1990, Canada
1993, the US in 1995 and New Zealand in 1996 and yet our Federal Government is considering
waiting until 2010!
AIR
The lead in air Federal goal is inadequate for dealing with
point source or industry pollution. This guideline calls for a measurement of pollution
readings to be taken every 6 days and then for it to be averaged over 90 days. The result
can be industry dumping large pollution clouds on residents, but as long as they keep the
average down they cannot be prosecuted. The State government can turn a federally
recommended goal into a standard (for incorporation into industry licences etc) - our
families can't afford to wait any longer -
Australia has not revised it's "lead in air" goal to
keep up with current knowledge about the dangers of even small amounts of lead in the
body. In 1993 when the "acceptable" blood lead level was revised down to 10
µg/dL the goal for lead in air remained as it was when 30 µg/dL blood lead was deemed
OK! - a review was recommended in 1993 WHY HASN'T IT HAPPENED?
In 1994 the California EPA had a proposed lead in air standard
that is one tenth our current guideline. The US EPA has estimated that every 1.0 µg/m³
(microgram per cubic metre) of lead in air contributes 3-5 µg/dL of lead to children's
blood. Our goal is 1.5 µg/m³ There is an Australian National Environment Protection
Measure proposal (NEPM) for it drop to 0.5 µg/m³ as a three month average.
Five years later it is well past time that this serious
anomaly was corrected.
CAR BATTERIES
Only by looking at the whole life cycle of lead can the true
cost be understood. Lead in petrol is just one use of lead in cars. Currently 64% of world
lead production goes to lead acid battery manufacture and the prediction is that this
proportion will rise to 70% of world lead production, which itself continues to rise
annually despite attempts to increase recycling. The homes up to three streets from the
Boolaroo smelter, near Newcastle, NSW, (where much of the lead for car batteries comes
from) are considered so unsafe for children to reside that they are designated
"child-free".
THE GLOBAL PICTURE
Leaded petrol is being exposed as unnecessary. Valerie Thomas
of Princeton University in the US said recently "All cars can run safely on unleaded
petrol", pointing out that any wear on valves is counterbalanced by reduced damage to
other parts of the engine - e.g. lead compounds and lead scavengers in leaded petrol
deposit inside the engine causing "coking up", which requires more frequent
overhauls.
(Source: NRMA - Open Road March, 1996)
A recent German study concluded that it would cost the same
amount as the government currently pays in the external costs of all pollution, accidents
and noise from each car, for the State to give "each car user a free pass for all
public transport, a new bike every five years and 15,000 kilometres of first-class rail
travel" And that was for a new car which ran on unleaded petrol!
No-one criticises the government for "losing money"
by building roads, yet some people expect a public transport system to operate with a
monetary profit without considering the long term environmental and social profit of
public transport.
According to Greenpeace "In the last 6 months of 1996
Australia exported 1.2 million scrap lead acid batteries for disposal to the Philippines,
where children are being poisoned by the resulting lead discharges"
In the last two years Australia has exported more than 9,000
tons of toxic waste to India. Only the US sent more. As of 1998 this shameful trade should
cease because of amendments to the Basel Convention banning hazardous waste exports to
developing countries. However, why doesn't Australia implement the Basel ban now?
"There is, says the World Bank, 'no excuse for continuing
to allow leaded fuels in any city'" [Pearce, New Scientist 27/7/96] 'The worlds
biggest aid lender to developing countries now puts banishing lead from petrol as its
number one priority for Third World transport investment'....
WHAT CAN I DO?
The majority of larger lead particles (still extremely small)
will fallout within 30 metres from a busy road. The smaller ones can travel kilometres or
even end up circling the earth! If you live on a busy road be aware that lead dust can be
tracked into your home, so use washable or hoseable mats at entrances. Use wet wiping and
wet mopping techniques inside and regularly wash and dry children's hands to protect
against lead dust. Better still read our "Lead Aware Housekeeping" and "Is
your yard lead safe" factsheets for more practical advice.
Switch to ULP - even if you have an older car enquire form the
NRMA about the possibility of your car using safer fuel. If not - use Shell half lead to
encourage its further production. Keep your car tuned - it will save you money and cut
down on pollution. Reduce your car use - work towards living without one.
Speak to your local members about taking the lead out of
petrol and revising our inadequate "lead in air" goal NOW.
Make an effort to increase your use of public transport or
walk as much as you can. Exercise is an important added benefit!
Buy a bicycle and put pressure on your local politicians to
increase bike tracks and cycleways. In 1990-91(our latest figures) 640,000 bicycles were
sold in Australia compared with the sale of 617,000 cars. Yet bicycle facilities received
less than 0.5% of the RTA's $1.8 billion annual budget.
Organise car pools to work, school or childcare or when
attending social or sporting functions.
If your local area has very poor or non-existent public
transport, complain to your State MP, your local council, State Rail or State Transit. If
there is a public transport service to your area investigate it - it may be better than
you think!
Don't rev your engine to warm it up in the morning. Drive
slowly and gently until the engine is warm. Don't idle your car for more than 30 seconds.
Encourage your school or childcare centre to erect a sign outside their centre to remind
parents that they may be contributing unnecessarily to pollution and therefore their
child's health risk if they wait outside the school/centre with the car engine idling.
When you see a vehicle which is polluting (i.e. emitting
visible fumes from the exhaust pipe for more than 10 seconds) report the car number to
Pollution Line on 131 555. They may not realise their car needs help or worse they may not
care!
Wear a sky blue ribbon to show your support of the Blue Skies
Cleanair campaign. Organiser, Gus GULSON, can be contacted at the Link Up Transport
Campaign on 9247 4206
For more information contact - The Lead Advisory Service (NSW)
telephone:9716 0014 or 9716 0132 or 1800 626 086 Fax 9716 9005
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