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process used in oil refineries to make benzene from straight chain molecules: it all depends on the operating conditions.‘ The manu- facturers fit the converter, and away goes the car—but what's real- ly going on there is a mystery. Hydrogen sulphide (rotten-egg gas) emissions can also regularly be detected from cars with catalytic converters. According to Noel Child, the gas tends to be emitted from newer vehicles. H2S is a highly toxic substance able to attach itself to haemoglobin and thus block oxygen absorption.’ The extract commencing on page 29 is by Dr Hans Nieper of Hannover, Germany, who has made some very intcresting discov- eries about what actually goes on inside catalytic converters." Aviation fuel contains aromatics including benzene. Michael Dawson, Brent Young and Noel Child have presented a report to a Commonwealth Government Senate Committee on Air Traffic Noise in Sydney. They suggest that with an already high base- concentration of benzene and other pollutants from car emissions, the extra pollutants—especially benzene from air traffic—put peo- ple under the flight path at extra-high risk. Their report contains data showing quite high monthly average benzene levels—up to 10.6—under the flight paths from Manchester airport. They say it is "located in an essentially rural environment, and these benzene concentrations can be reasonably assumed to result almost entirely from aircraft rather than motor vehicle emissions." CONCLUSION One thing that's very apparent is that vested interests want to withhold this information from the public. Aromatics are the least My research shows there is little difference in the aromatic lev- ©XPensive of the octane-number increasing fuel additives. Having els—so, on that account, it should make no difference which you °talytic converters on cars makes many people believe that most use. You'd swap a little lead for 5 or 6 points of octane number, Ff the toxic fumes have been greatly reduced. — - With pre-1986 cars, if you do use ULP, the lack of lead will But, for sure, there is now greatly increased interest in this sub- cause the bores to wear out more quickly. Unless you have hard- ject. For example, the Royal College of Physicians, London, is ened valve seats, they will slowly settle into the head (but, in any having an International Air Toxics Conference in November this case, the valve seats in today's vehicles are not always hardened).' year. At least two presentations will be from Australia, with Noel However, I would definitely not recommend using premium Child presenting a paper titled, "In Search of a Green Gasoline". unleaded fuel because of its much higher aromatic content. Dr Michael Dawson and Noel Child will also be presenting their The question remains to be asked: “Why are catalytic converters _ research into benzene levels. so important to have fitted on cars designed for unleaded petrol, when the leaded fuel we still buy for cars without catalytic con- Footnotes: verters contains the same composition of aromatics?" 1, C. Simons telephone conversation with Dr Michael Dawson, Department of In New Zealand the situation is different. ULP technology has Chemistry, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, May 1995. been introduced without any cars being fitted with catalytic con- 2. Dr Michael Dawson and Noel Child, "Study of Benzene Levels in Sydney", verters.""7 University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, published August 1994. (By the way, Associated Octel is the company that makes the 3. Dr Michael Dawson, “Benzene, the Devil Around the Corner”, letter pub- lead ound used in petrol.* The petroleum cartels once owned Betray Ths esemmtees 25: Reger LO. . . ees - Ee ds : 7 4. C. Simons telephone conversations with Noel Child (Ph.D. pending), con- Associated Octel, and all but sold it off after the introduction Of gutting engineer and lecturer in Environmental Engineering at UTS, May 1995. unleaded technology—so any reintroduction of lead would not be 5. Dr Michael Dawson, "Not Overlooking US Experience", The Australian, 19 in their interests.) September 1994. Dr Miahaal Das WHICH FUEL TO USE? In Australia, there is a campaign to encourage owners of pre- 1986 leaded petrol-run vehicles to use unleaded petrol.*'* "Nia Cimnla ©, ta Tend Grae DatenI” The Naihe Footnotes: 1. C. Simons telephone conversation with Dr Michael Dawson, Department of Chemistry, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, May 1995. 2. Dr Michael Dawson and Noel Child, "Study of Benzene Levels in Sydney", University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, published August 1994. 3. Dr Michael Dawson, "Benzene, the Devil Around the Corner”, letter pub- lished in The Australian, 28 September 1994. 4. C. Simons telephone conversations with Noel Child (Ph.D. pending), con- sulting engineer and lecturer in Environmental Engineering at UTS, May 1995. 5. Dr Michael Dawson, “Not Overlooking US Experience", The Australian, 19 September 1994. 6. Dr Michael Dawson, "No Simple Solution to Lead-Free Petrol”, The Daily Telegraph-Mirror, 10 November 1994. 7. In-House Staff, "Hushed-up Dangers”, Explore!, vol. 5, nos. 5 and 6, 1994. 8. Julian Cribb, "Cancer Chemical Detected in Air", The Australian, 12 August 1994. 9. Simon Grose, “Choose Your Poison," The Canberra Times, 26 March 1994. 10. “Ban Urged on Super Unleaded Fuel”, The Guardian Weekly [UK], 6 November 1994. 1]. "No Turning Back to Leaded Petrol, Say MPs", New Scientist, 29 April 1995. 12. Julian Cribb, “Scientists Debate Carcinogenic Risk of Cars", The Weekend Australian, 13-14 August 1994. 13. Darcy Maddock, "Leaded Versus Unleaded Petrols”, Australasian Health and Healing, November 1994-January 1995. 14. C. Simons telephone conversation with Prof. Bill McCarthy, Executive Director, The Sydney Melanoma Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia, May 1995. 15. Hulda Regehr Clark, Ph.D., N.D., The Cure For HIV and Aids: With 70 Case Histories, ProMotion Publishing, San Diego, California, USA, 1993. 16. Jack Haley, Manager, Vehicles and Environment, NRMA, letter published in Australasian Health and Healing, vol. 14, no. 2, February-April 1995. 17. “One Petrol Problem Swapped For Another: Expert", Wheels Weekly [New Zealand], 11 November 1994. 18. Dr Michael Dawson, Brent Young and Noe! Child, "Air Quality Considerations, Kingsford Smith Airport”, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, May 1995. 19. Dr Hans Nieper, "Nerve Gas from Cars with Catalytic Converters", letter published in Townsend Letter for Doctors, December 1994. {* Note ref. Tables 1, 2, 3; RON = Research Octane Number.] CATALYTIC CONVERTER CHAOS In theory, a catalytic converter is supposed to convert 90% of the unburnt part of the fuel and turn it into a safer substance.* But in practice, as mentioned in the last issue, they take 10-15 minutes to warm up before they work, and they cease to work after 40,000 to 50,000 kilometres. So, much of the time, they'd definitely not be doing what they're supposed to be doing. _ "They supposedly fall off" in efficiency, "but there's been no work done in this country on it," says Ron Castaldi of the Australian Institute of Petroleum.’ In 1994, the Australian Committee on Vehicle Emissions and Noise (ACVEN) started a survey to check emissions from 600 cars nationwide. “Benzene is not one of the controlled emissions," says Project Director Peter Anyon of the Federal Office of Road Safety.* Professor Roger Perry, Professor of Environmental Control and Waste Management at London's Imperial Collegesof Science, Technology and Medicine, asks, "Do you remove 95% of hydro- carbons when the catalyst is new, and then 60% in three years’ time? Does the 60% mean the easy ones, and the difficult ones are not being removed? No one can answer that. Benzene is a stable aromatic material; the odds are that it would be one of the last to be oxidised. The more inefficient the catalytic converter becomes, the more benzene would get through the system." Noe! Child says it’s actually very similar technology to the 28 © NEXUS JUNE - JULY 1995 HEALTH HAZARDS OF AVIATION FUEL