Leaded Fuel Phased Out - Since 2004, says TOR

June 18, 2008 (Lead Story)

THE Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has stated that it has, since 2004, phased out leaded petrol from its line of production.
It, therefore, dismissed claims that the refinery was currently serving leaded petrol to the public and urged the public to ignore oil marketing companies (OMCs) which maintained that they were serving only unleaded petrol to consumers.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Public Affairs Manager of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, said the deregulation exercise in the petroleum sector gave the OMCs the right to purchase petroleum products from other countries.
She said it was, therefore, unfortunate that some OMCs had taken advantage of the exercise to peddle falsehood.
Mrs Lokko, who declined to specifically mention the OMCs, said the refinery was stating the facts publicly because the perception being created was that it was serving leaded fuel to consumers.
According to her, the perception was so widespread that the refinery had decided to embark on a massive public campaign to educate Ghanaians on the unleaded fuel programme.
She explained that the phasing out of lead began in 2003, saying it was completely phased out in January 2004 after the Petroleum (Amendment) Regulation, 2003 (LI 1732) had been passed.
The regulation, which came into force on January 1, 2004, prohibited the production and importation of leaded petrol.
Sub-section (1) of Section 4A of the regulation said, “A person shall not produce, import, store, sell or use leaded gasoline in Ghana”, while Sub-section 2 warned that “a person who contravenes sub-regulation (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both”.
Each penalty unit is GH¢12, thus a person found liable of importing or producing leaded petrol will pay a fine not exceeding GH¢3,000.
Explaining further, Mrs Lokko said that TOR formulated its unleaded petrol with a compound called methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) as an octane booster.
"Extensive testing had been done on MMT by Afton Chemicals and other environmental organisations around the world and those organisations had all concluded that MMT did not pose any risks for humans," she explained.
She explained further that the Environmental Services and Quality Control departments of TOR monitored the concentration of manganese in air periodically and reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Mrs Lokko explained that the octane level in gasoline was 91 and gave the assurance that petroleum products from the refinery were of high quality.
Unleaded gasoline promotes high engine performance, thereby reducing high maintenance cost, among other attributes.
Other effects of lead poisoning, which is extremely toxic, even in lower concentrations, are loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, increased blood pressure, stroke, joint or muscle ache, impairment of mental development in children leading to behavioural disorders, neuro-development damage, leading to lower intelligence, as well as decreased sexual drive.
Other African countries which produce unleaded fuel are Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroun, South Africa, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon, bringing the number of countries which produce unleaded fuel in Africa to 10.