Leaded petrol is gone, but lead pollution may linger for a very long time
As a scientist studying lead poisoning in children once remarked: “it took two years to put lead into gasoline and 60 years to take it out”. The consensus around leaded fuel’s unacceptable threat to human health was hard won, entailing a long fight between scientists, regulatory authorities and industry. In a recent ray of good news, it seems the world has finally turned a corner on the use of this toxic chemical in fuel.
The use of lead in fuel goes back to the 1920s, when tetraethyl lead was added to petrol to reduce engine knocking. From 1970 until the end of the century, it’s estimated that about 140,000 tonnes of lead was released into the atmosphere from tailpipes in the UK. Since 1999, using lead in fuel has been banned.
