New petrol fuels cleaner air drive
Drivers in Edinburgh today became the first in the UK to be offered two revolutionary green fuels which promise to help cut air pollution.
The launch of the sulphur-free unleaded petrol and diesel, made at BP's Grangemouth refinery, is seen as a major step towards cutting acid rain and health problems associated with air pollution.
The launch of the fuels, which will be available at all BP stations in and around the Capital, makes Edinburgh the only city in the world where both are available.
The sulphur-free petrol can be used by any vehicle that uses unleaded petrol, and costs no more than existing "cleaner" fuels already available, such as BP's "ultra low sulphur" fuels.
Backers claim the fuels are the cleanest on the market in the UK and will have an immediate impact on the air quality in the city.
Experts today acknowledged that the products will reduce harmful sulphur dioxide - which causes serious respiratory problems including asthma - as well as particulate emissions linked to acid rain and smog.
Graham Sims, head of BP Retail, today said that they were working in all aspects of our industry towards lowering emissions for the future, and believe people share our commitment to a cleaner environment through choosing cleaner fuels.
He said that Edinburgh is just the first step. This reinforces Grangemouth's position at the forefront of clean fuels manufacture.
Grangemouth is the only UK refinery with "hydrocracking" technology which allows the sulphur to be removed.
The new petrol and diesel are allowed to have a maximum sulphur content of ten parts per million - an amount so minute that it is almost undetectable even with the most sophisticated laboratory testing methods.
Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Learning, said that he was delighted that BP have launched this new, more environmentally friendly fuel and that they have chosen the Edinburgh area in which to do so.
The Scottish Executive is committed to improving the environment in which we live and work and this initiative by BP is an excellent example to all industries.
The products' release comes several years ahead of EU legislative requirements - which require sulphur-free fuels to be available at all sites by 2008.
Dr Richard , head of research with Friends of the Earth Scotland, said that Reducing the amount of sulphur in the local environment is a good thing for people's health in Edinburgh.
Both the petrol and diesel will be sold from today at 18 BP service stations across the Edinburgh area before eventually being rolled out nationally.
Scientists at St Andrews University last year claimed about 240 people were being killed annually by pollution in the Capital, most of which comes from car fumes.
In 2000, city council leaders pledged to target traffic fume blackspots across the city within five years after a report identified eight areas where air quality was unlikely to meet targets for reducing nitrogen dioxide linked to heavy traffic.
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