G e tt in g the le ad out

Getting the lead ou t usually means to hurry. In to da y ’s Africa, th a t ’s what is happening — in a dual sense — as a p r iv a te -p u b l ic partne rsh ip w o rk s at a quickened pace to literally get the lead out of gasoline.

IECA and th e U.S. Environm enta l P ro te c t io n A g en cy to share kn ow le d ge and capabilitie s developed e lsew here. A fric an g o ve rnm en ts p le dged to w o rk c lo se ly to g e th e r to address th e e conom ic , po litic a l and social barrie rs to quick action. In the end, 25 countries set a target date of 2005 to achieve the phaseout of leaded gasoline.

Using tetraethyl lead in gasoline is a com paratively inexpensive way to provide the octane that engines need to perform well. Obtaining the same perform ance from unleaded gasoline requires expensive in vestm en ts , and th e resu ltin g fuel is h igher co s t. In A fric a , w here g o ve rn m en ts ow n or co n tro l many re fin erie s , in vestm en t in reducing lead must be done cooperatively.

The Dakar conference raised awareness o f th e issue and estab lis hed a w o rk in g partne rsh ip am ong fuel suppliers, the World Bank, the UN Environm ental Program , several NGOs and regional governments to develop c o n c re te phaseout plans.

Toward a lead-free

Africa

But w ithout unleaded gasoline, some of the basic steps to reduce a u to m o t iv e a ir po llu tio n ca n n o t be ta ken. T h a t ’s because lead harm s catalytic converters and prevents their broader use on cars. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that high exposure to airborne lead presents health concerns, especially in children.

Leaded gasoline has not been used in the U.S., Europe or Japan for many years.

Ensuring that it is phased out in Africa has been an ExxonMobil priority, and we have a p p ro a ch ed th is issue by w o rk in g w ith o th e rs under th e ausp ic e s o f th e In te rnationa l Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA).

A seminal agreement on lead phaseout in Africa occurred in 2001, at a World Bank conference in Dakar. African governm ents heard not only s tro ng e n co u ra g em e n t to deve lo p lead phaseout plans, but also offers of help from IP

That partnership is now assem b lin g in Nairobi to assess progress. The partners have good reason to be proud of their achievements.

To date, nine coun tr ie s have com p le te ly e lim in a ted leaded fuel sales, and nine o th e rs have begun to make unleaded gasoline available as a prelude to reductions in leaded sales. Well over th ree-quarters of the gasoline in Africa will be unleaded by the end o f 2005, w ith th e rest soon to follow. The comm itm ent and progress is impressive.

Equally important as the progress on lead has been th e successful dem onstratio n th a t a voluntary initiative combining a dedicated p a r tnership of companies, NGOs, international institu t io n s and g o ve rnm e n ts can su ccessfu lly benefit the public. This example may serve in the future as attention is directed to other African environmental and social issues.

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