UN Hails End Of Leaded Gas Use In Cars Worldwide

Leaded gasoline has finally reached the end of the road, the UN environment office said Monday, after the last country in the world halted the sale of the highly toxic fuel, Frank Jordans reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Gassed out. Lead gasoline has reached the end of the line.

Algeria stopped providing leaded gas last month, prompting the UN Environment Agency to declare the “official end” of its use in cars, which has been blamed for a wide range of human health problems.

“The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge milestone for global health and our environment,” UNEP’s executive director, Inger Andersen, said in a statement. Petroleum containing tetraethyl lead, a form of lead, was first sold almost 100 years ago to increase engine performance.

It was widely used for decades until researchers discovered that it could cause heart disease, strokes, and brain damage. UNEP said studies showed leaded gas caused measurable intellectual impairment in children and millions of premature deaths.

“The cost of environmental degradation is real,” said Andersen, citing what she described as a “very, very ballpark number” of $2.45 trillion in damage to the global economy prevented by the ban.

Janet McCabe, deputy administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said measurements showed blood lead levels “plummeted, literally, literally plummeted” after the fuel was banned in the United States.

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