|
|
  |
| Serbia trying to get the lead out Twenty-nine percent of children in downtown Belgrade and 9 percent of those in the suburbs risk having health problems because of high levels of airborne lead, according to recent research by the Serbian Institute of Toxicology. Lead dust is five to 10 times more concentrated in Belgrade’s air than in other European cities, said Dragana Vujanovic, a professor from the institute. Most of those at risk live within a kilometre from measurement sites. The high lead levels in Belgrade’s air — and in the blood of its residents — stem from the fact that about 58 percent of the fuel sold at Serbian filling stations is still leaded. One of the very few countries in Europe that has yet to phase out leaded fuel, Serbia remains a place where motorists can fill up with petrol with 400 milligrams of lead per litre. In the EU, lead in petrol is limited to 5 mg/l. “There are two forecasts for a date for banning lead from fuel: 2010 is the optimistic one and 2020 the pessimistic,” said Dragoslava Stojiljkovic from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Belgrade. In early May, the REC and the United Nations Environment Programme’s Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles gathered several stakeholders in Belgrade to discuss possibilities for speeding up the phase-out of leaded fuel in Serbia. According to officials, it cannot happen before 2010 because refineries would need some USD 300 million to change technologies. Refineries are still state-owned though privatisation is expected within a year. An official from the Zastava car factory, which commands one of five cars in Serbia, pointed out that some of its models still need leaded fuel. This created a vicious circle in which refineries produce leaded fuel for the cars and Zastava produces lead-dependent engines because of the available fuel. However, according to Elisa Dumitrescu of the UNEPbased
Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles, nternational experience proves
lead can be phased out without delay. The first steps include increasing
the awareness of the health dangers of lead, education on how cars can
be adapted for unleaded fuel, preferential pricing of unleaded fuel, and
the use of additives to create the correct fuel octane. |
|
|
    
|
|||
|
