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QUESTION: Why does the Iraq government still permit the sale of leaded petrol? 27/03/12 Sulaimani City / As-Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

Dear lead group

My name is Peshawa Jaf, I am from Kurdistan region/Iraq, I have MSc in Environmental Geology. I am working on a TV program about face-out lead gasoline in Kurdistan region / Iraq. I collect many papers related about lead gasoline, however, I don’t know why Iraq still working in this poison material, why Iraq still use it? Did you ever spoke or send any official letter to Iraqi authority to motivate them to face-out lead gasoline and you get any answer?

Please if you have any document related to this issue in Iraq I will be grateful.

Best regarded

Peshawa

EMAIL TWO  Date: 27/03/2012 06:03 PM Subject:

 RE: Request for official letter from an Iraqi authority explaining why they still permit leaded petrol

Dear Mary and Elizabeth Many thanks to your fast and great reply; you gave my much information about this issue. As you know working in an environment like Iraq will be a challenge, this TV programme will be my first step and hopefully, I will try to speak with some NGO to raise this issue inside. We will be in contact, and I will send you a copy of the programme when it be ready. Best regard

Peshawa Jaf

Environmental Geologist

Groundwater Directorate/Sulaimani City

Kurdistan Region Iraq

+964(0)771471180

EMAIL THREE Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 11:32 PM

Dear all

Hopefully, the TV program has been shown in 4/4/2012 9:05 pm in the KNN channel about the lead gasoline in Iraq and Kurdistan region, named (the big threat: T.L), however, the program is only in Kurdish language, but, we try to translate it to Arabic and English language.

It talks about:

How the British business man bribe the Iraqi oil minister to sell it’s illegal TEL.

How the lead spread and effect in the environment.

What the Iraq and Kurdistan regional government say about the lead gasoline.

You can watch the programme in the link below

http://www.knnc.net/VideoPlayer.aspx?VideoUR
L=http://programs.sbeiy.net/report-T-L-4-4-2012.flv&ProgramID=2081
 

Hope work to gather from in and outside to prevent lead gasoline to pollute and threat our environment.

Peshawa Jaf

Environmental Geologist

Groundwater Directorate/Sulaimani City

Kurdistan Region Iraq

ANSWER: March 27 2012

Dear Peshawa,

how exciting to receive your inquiry! To know that someone is researching the phase-out of leaded petrol in Iraq!! This is wonderful news - truly wonderful news.

I'm afraid I don't have any official answers as to why Iraq is among the last six or possibly three countries in the world to still be permitting the sale of leaded petrol. We have never written to the government because that is the assigned task of the Secretariat of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Partnership for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV). I have forwarded your request for the official Iraqi response to the PCFV Secretariat. I will forward his answer if he supplies one, to you.

As a Partner of the PCFV, I have approached the company that sells the lead petrol additive to Iraq and asked them to stop making it. They can still make a profit from manufacturing the lead additive for petrol (ie manufacturing tetraethyl lead (TEL) for motor fuel (MOGAS) so they will continue to make it for this year and possibly next year. The company that makes TEL for MOGAS is called Innospec. It's a US-incorporated company manufacturing TEL in the United Kingdom. Innospec claims on its website that it is the only manufacturer of TEL in the world but there are at least 7 Chinese companies who claim online to make TEL too. So even when Innospec stops making TEL, the Iraq petroleum refinery companies could possibly buy TEL from China or from a Chinese TEL importer via another country.

It is my belief that it's possible Iraq is still buying the TEL from Innospec because some Iraqi officials were bribed by Innospec some years ago, to continue buying the TEL from Innospec. You can read about the bribery case at Ex-Innospec CEO settles SEC foreign bribery case  24 January 2011 - but I have been advised by a pro bono legal advisor that I should not make allegations about this bribery continuing to the present day, even though it would clearly be profitable for Innospec to be continuing to bribe Iraqi officials. The contracts they won with their bribery created more profit than the cost of the fines and the settlement by the company CEO.

Please stay in touch - I'll be very interested to help with anything you request for the TV program.

Kind regards

Yours Sincerely

Elizabeth O'Brien

EMAIL from Mary of the PCFV ONE  CC: The LEAD Group

Subject: Fw: Request for official letter from an Iraqi authority explaining why they still permit leaded petrol

From: Sara

Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012

Dear Peshawa Your email regarding leaded gasoline in Iraq has been forwarded to us by our partner member of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) -whose secretariat is run by UNEP- Ms Elizabeth O'Brien of the Lead Group. You raise a pertinent and important issue regarding continued use of lead in Iraq as both UNEP and the PCFV have been working towards promoting a lead free world, since 2002 when the PCFV public - private partnership was set up. The PCFV had major success in its lead phase-out campaign with the exception of the six countries now remaining with leaded gasoline and of which Iraq is one. In answer to your question, we do not know why Iraq is still using lead in gasoline. We have however, opened discussions with the Iraqi government coordinated through the Iraqi Ministry of Environment, aimed at promoting a national program for the elimination of lead in gasoline. The first meeting was held in July 2008 when UNEP sponsored an Iraq government official to the UNEP-PCFV lead phase-out meeting in Jordan. The Jordan case study was a practical example of a country in region successfully working through its existing facilities, without refinery modernization, to phase out leaded gasoline. An Iraq national Consultative meeting, supported by UNEP in conjunction with the Iraq Ministry of Environment and facilitated by the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region & Europe (CEDARE) was held in April 2011 between several Iraqi ministries and agencies. The recommendations from this important meeting, as well as the agenda and a list of participants can be viewed on the following link: Iraq Technical and Policy Workshop on lead Phase-out held in Cairo on 20-21 April 2011. We now await details, with regular follow-up, of a national program to phase out leaded gasoline (and how UNEP-PCFV can best support Iraq) from the Iraqi government. The contact for UNEP and the PCFV is Mr. Fadhil Ahmed, Director of Sustainable Development Dept. Ministry of Environment (who's copied on this email) and we recommend you contact him directly for further details on the progress of lead phase out for your TV program. We would be happy to receive copies of your program or a web link to your work as we remain keen in promoting phase out in Iraq which will contribute significantly to our goal for the global elimination of lead now that only 6 countries remain. Best Regards,

Mary

M. Kimotho M'Mukindia

EMAIL From Mary TWO Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2012

Dear Peshawa, You are very welcome and I wish you the best of success in your work and look forward with interest to hearing progress and collaboration with both local and national authorities including the refineries who are aware and sensitized on the lead-in-gasoline health concerns and are responsive towards beginning phase-out work. Please keep in touch and do share any contacts of civil society such as NGO's working or interested in this area. Regards,

Mary

EMAIL TWO

Dear Peshawa,

Congratulations!

Are the Arabic and English translations available yet?

12/04/12 Sulaimani City / As-Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

TELY, THE VIDEO ON KNN (KURDISH NEWS NETWORK) TITLED T.L????????? ???????DOE DOES NOT PLAY, BUT WAS ADDED TO THE LIBRARY ANYWAY BECAUSE NONE OF THE VIDEOS ON KNN WOULD PLAY. IT'S URL IS http://www.knnc.net/VideoPlayer.aspx?VideoURL=http://programs.sbeiy.net/report-T-L-4-4-2012.
flv&ProgramID=2081

 = LID 15703

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