Environment report authors urge action against diesel use

One of the authors of the recently-published 'State of the Environment' report has called on the authorities to crack down on vehicles using low quality diesel, which is harmful to health.

And another author of the report insisted it was high time that the authorities started taxing the polluter and hiked up the price of diesel.

Prof. Edward Mallia and Prof. Edward Vella were contacted following the recent publication of a US report on the detrimental health effects of diesel.

After a decade of study, the report by the US's Environmental Protection Agency concluded that inhaling diesel exhaust emissions from large trucks and other sources over time can cause cancer in humans.

The report reiterated that environmental exposure to diesel exhausts poses short-term health problems and in the long term has been shown to be a "chronic respiratory hazard to humans" contributing to higher asthma and other respiratory problems.

Diesel consumption in Malta, and many European countries, continues to rise.

The government-commissioned 'State of the Environment' report states that diesel sales have nearly doubled over 10 years - from 46 kilo tons in 1990 to 80 kt in 2000.

Prof. Mallia insisted that the authorities should do their utmost to stop vehicles suspected of using low quality diesel.

"It's a scandal to leave all such vehicles on our roads, especially since it's quite well-known that a number of large vehicles are mixing diesel with paraffin," he claimed.

"Sadly, our buses and many of the construction vehicles are like mobile power stations. I really doubt they are using low sulphur diesel."

Prof. Mallia said that spot checks should be carried out to ensure that cars were installed with catalytic converters to reduce harmful emissions.

He said the problem in Malta was exacerbated by the enormous number of vehicles on the road.

Figures released earlier this month by the National Statistics Office show that at the end of June, the total stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 258,045, compared with 250,950 in June, 2001.

At the end of 2000, an estimated 18 per cent of all cars were in the diesel sector. Diesel had certain advantages, in that it did not evaporate the way other fuels did, and it was therefore cost effective.

Prof. Mallia said that diesel was particularly harmful because of the tiny particles which are emitted. Each diesel engine can produce tons of air pollutants in its lifetime, which was backed by mounting evidence.

Emissions depend on a number of factors, including the age of an engine, whether a vehicle is going uphill, and so on, he said.

He said the importation of diesel with low sulphur and the introduction of the Vehicle Roadworthiness Test were a step in the right direction.

A local company recently announced it was producing bio-diesel, an environment-friendly fuel produced from any vegetable oil or fat, and hopes to eventually sell it to the public.

Bio-diesel has taken off worldwide, especially in the EU which even has a directive requiring that two per cent of road transport fuel should come from bio sources by 2005.

Prof. Vella, another author, said it was high time the government removed the price differentials between diesel and other less harmful fuels.

"We should put the saying 'the polluter pays' to better use," Prof. Vella said, when contacted.

There was a stark difference between the price of diesel in Malta and UK where diesel cost one penny more than unleaded fuel.

Diesel in Malta costs 23 cents per litre, unleaded fuel 36c7.

In the last budget, Finance Minister John Dalli announced that fuel prices would reflect international prices.

However, the government felt that it was not right to undertake a sharp rise in the price for diesel in one big increase, since it was widely used in all economic sectors - manufacturing and self-employed.

The government was therefore using a formula that would adjust prices between diesel and petrol over three years.

Prof. Vella said there was a time when the government backed the low price for diesel on grounds that diesel users were the 'common workers'. This argument no longer held, however.

One would obviously need to take into consideration the ripple effect of increasing the price of diesel for buses, he said.

"But why are certain luxurious cars with turbo-diesel engines paying less for a fuel which is ultimately damaging health and the environment," Prof. Vella asked.

The problem is accentuated further because there are too many second-hand cars and trucks on the road, Prof. Vella said.

The 'State of the Environment' report states that the use of fuel has been influenced by technical, environment and price considerations. It says that for more than 20 years, the Maltese have kept a strong differential between petrol and diesel in favour of the latter.

The popularity of four-wheel drive vehicles and to a lesser extent pick-up trucks as private cars meant an increase in the price of diesel, since such vehicles almost invariably have diesel engines.

Diesel has been used to provide 39 per cent of land transport, 32 per cent for electricity generation, one per cent for manufacturing and the construction industry and 26 per cent for bunkering.