Nexus - 0225 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

THE BIG CON “pinging"—still existed. There were available alternative addi- Eventually the blankets of sulphur and nitrogen oxides, better _ tives that could be used, but these all had the disadvantage thal, known as smog, grew so thick and so unbearable that "public —_ untreated, they produced emissions far more deadly than even the opinion" caused America's legislators to start looking for answers. lead. On the plus side, however, these emissions could be filtered Obviously the place to start was with the oil companies. The oil out by catalytic converters. What was needed, then, was a cam- companies announced quite loudly, and mostly erroneously, that — paign to convince people that “leaded” petrol was a grave danger the problem was "so many cars"y to the environment, and that the only solution was to cease using There were only two solutions, they said: either limit the num- it, replace it with the “unleaded” variety, and then run the emis- ber of cars, or put something into the cars to "change" and limit sions through a catalytic converter. Such a campaign would the emissions. Was such a thing possible, asked the legislators? — ensure that legislation was passed forcing the fitting of catalytic Certainly, replied the oil companies. Let us tell you about “cat- converters, which would overcome the original problem for the oil alytic converters" which can be fitted to the exhaust system of | companies—the increased levels of sulphur and nitrates in their every car. fuel. You see, the campaign never had anything to do with lead: The legislators, although they toyed with the concept, were not it was simply a matter of convincing people to use a fuel that about to try and seriously interfere with people's rights to drive | wouldn't wreck the converters, so that the petroleum companies motor cars. Such action was perceived as electoral suicide, espe- didn't have to spend any more money refining the oil and could cially when there was the alternative "magic bullet” solution of get away with selling a dirtier product, forcing the motorist to bear converters available. Neither were they about to listen to all the —_ both the responsibility and the cost of trying to clean up the air. “extremists” who were trying to tell them that the problem was in Anybody who doubts it was the quality of the petrol rather than the type of oil being refined in the first place, and the only long- _ the number of cars which caused the massive increase in smog in term solution was to get the oil companies to clean up their act. the period in question, need only look to actual figures. While it is Such people contribute very little to election campaigns; the petrol true that the number of cars in use was increasing, the rate of chemical giants contribute millions. There was only one problem _ increase was fairly steady. At the height of the “smog wars", how- left for the oi] companies. Unfortunately, while platinum doesn't — ever, the levels of emissions were increasing at nearly four times react to any great degree with the products of burnt petrol, it reacts the rate of growth of car ownership. On top of that, this was the very readily with lead—so readily, in fact, that burning a single _ period where petrol was starting to get more expensive, and “eco- tankful of "leaded" petro] in a car with a catalytic converter will nomical” engines were becoming the order of the day. That is, render the converter useless. (This is the reason it is illegal to put although both car ownership and petrol consumption were on the "leaded" petrol in the fuel tank of a car designed to run on the __ increase, rate of ownership far outstripped rate of increase of con- "unleaded" variety.) sumption. Trouble was, the oil companies couldn't simply stop putting lead (Source: Peter Sawyer, Green Hoax Effect, Groupacumen in petrol, because the original reason for its presence—to stop Publishing, Wodonga, Victoria, Australia, 1990) — HEALTH RISKS FROM ULP! — $ you are aware, we have been would bump into a bit of lead oxide, which ENTER THE GREENIES told that our old cars must go forms lead dioxide, as lead has four bonds, “Clean up car exhausts’ was the cry. By because of their ‘dirty' exhausts, but that breaks down to lead, Pbz, and oxy- 1975, lead was being reduced in petrol in particular the lead issuing gen, Oz, but slowed down the reaction. because lead is a poison—that is a general forth and causing great public health prob- "In searching for a way t@get the lead statement; however, to get the fact exact lems. spread through the mixture, Midgie found you should say lead is a poison when it is Dr David Warren was the guest speaker a compound called lead tetraethyl which is absorbed into the body. at the quarterly meeting of the AOMC _ similar to the combinations in the groups "Now, the fact that lead is a poison if (Vic) on 28 February 1994. Dr Warren is making up petrol. The first good thing absorbed, does it follow that the lead in a retired Research Scientist for the about it is because it is like petrol, itis sol- our bodies is from the lead in petrol? That Department of Defence and was the uble in petrol. The second is that it vapor- was the debate in the early '80s. There Energy Resources adviser to the Victorian ises like petrol, which means that the lead were a large number of contradictory Government back in the early/mid-'80s _ tetraethyl is dotted around in the mixture. reports in the papers, and the National when the ULP debate was gathering ‘The third thing: it breaks down to lead at Energy Advisory Committee reported ‘no momentum. Here is a condensed summa- upper cylinder temperatures, lead atoms single case of clinical lead poisoning has ry of Dr Warren's address. spread around and the ethyls are let go. ever been demonstrated to be due to auto- Then the lead does its job, combining with motive emissions of airborne lead’. ENTER LEAD the free radicals and slowing down the “There were tests and arguments all over "In the carly 1920s, a fellow called reaction. the world. In Frankfurt, the government Thomas Midgie was looking for some- "Midgie’s research took the octane num- decided they would cut the lead in petrol thing to combine with the free radicals to ber from 50 to 65; then research at the from 0.4 to 0.15 grams per litre, about two stop ‘knocking’. He found that things like refinery introduced crackling reforming thirds. Now if the lead was a problem, it platinum, silver and lead were able to hold and improved the octane number past 89; should have an effect on the community. these free radicals. Midgie figured that if then, with further developments and If petrol is causing part of the lead in the he could get lead oxide spread through the money, they got the octane number up to community and you cut it by two thirds, mixture, sooner or later the free radicals 110 for aviation fuel. any scientist knows it must have an effect, “pinging"—-still existed. There were available alternative addi- tives that could be used, but these all had the disadvantage that, untreated, they produced emissions far more deadly than even the lead. On the plus side, however, these emissions could be filtered out by catalytic converters. What was needed, then, was a cam- paign to convince people that "leaded" petrol was a grave danger to the environment, and that the only solution was to cease using it, replace it with the “unleaded” variety, and then run the emis- sions through a catalytic converter. Such a campaign would ensure that legislation was passed forcing the fitting of catalytic converters, which would overcome the original problem for the oil companies—the increased levels of sulphur and nitrates in their fuel. You see, the campaign never had anything to do with lead: it was simply a matter of convincing people to use a fuel that wouldn't wreck the converters, so that the petroleum companies didn't have to spend any more money refining the oil and could get away with selling a dirtier product, forcing the motorist to bear both the responsibility and the cost of trying to clean up the air. Anybody who doubts it was the quality of the petrol rather than the number of cars which caused the massive increase in smog in the period in question, need only look to actual figures. While it is true that the number of cars in use was increasing, the rate of increase was fairly steady. At the height of the “smog wars", how- ever, the levels of emissions were increasing at nearly four times the rate of growth of car ownership. On top of that, this was the period where petrol was starting to get more expensive, and “eco- nomical” engines were becoming the order of the day. That is, although both car ownership and petrol consumption were on the increase, rate of ownership far outstripped rate of increase of con- sumption. (auera: Datae Cw Conan Hane Blbant Cleaunanumon (Source: Peter Sawyer, Green Hoax Effect, Groupacumen Publishing, Wodonga, Victoria, Australia, 1990) APRIL - MAY 1995 NEXUS ¢ 47