Leaded fuel switch will take minutes
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Your support makes all the difference.THE FIVE million British motorists still using leaded petrol were urged by the Government yesterday not to panic about it being banned in five months' time. Despite scare stories, for nearly all drivers the change- over to unleaded fuel will be seamless, said the Transport minister Lord Whitty.
Many cars running on leaded petrol will be able to use unleaded with little or no adjustment to the engine, Lord Whitty said. Engines that do need adjustment can be fixed in a few minutes in a garage.
For those engines that require petrol with an additive, lead replacement petrol (LRP) will be available on forecourts from the autumn, at no more than the cost of four-star. Motorists can also buy additives to mix with unleaded petrol.
Today the Government is launching a national advertising campaign to make all motorists realise leaded petrol sales cease from 1 January, in compliance with EU law.
"Surveys show half of the motorists who might be affected are not yet fully aware, and with those who are, there are terrible scare stories running around saloon bars that they're going to have to scrap their cars or get rid of them," Lord Whitty said. "None of this is true."
A small proportion of leaded petrol will remain on sale for classic cars and racing purposes - but no more than 0.5 per cent of total national petrol sales, the minister added.
Dr Mike Frend, director general of the UK Petroleum Industries Association, said: "With the replacement products, you will simply pull up at the same-looking pump with the same-sized nozzle, and this seamless transfer, we hope, will take place very easily and very conveniently."
Lead in petrol increases the octane rating of the fuel, making the engine less likely to misfire, and helps to protect the valve seats from wear. It was introduced in the 1920s by Thomas Midgley, an industrial chemist with General Motors.
Mr Midgley had the unfortunate distinction of being responsible for two of the most environmentally damaging chemicals produced. He also invented chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the refrigerator and air-conditioning compounds found in the 1980s to destroy the earth's protective ozone layer.
In the 1970s and 1980s lead in the atmosphere was found to be harmful, particularly to the mental development of small children. In 1985 the EU made a sharp cut in the amount of lead permitted in fuel, and levels in the air have been falling, especially after the British government made unleaded petrol cheaper than four-star.
The amount of lead pumped out annually on UK roads has dropped from more than 7,000 tonnes to 800 tonnes.
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