Abu Dhabi: The UAE Cabinet has adopted a compulsory standard specification for unleaded gasoline, related to testing requirements and methods, based on its Decision No. 13 of 2017.
It also approved a project that was presented by the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, ESMA, with the aim of decreasing emissions from vehicle engines and damage to the nation’s health and the environment, especially from carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions.
Abdulla Abdul Qader Al Maeeni, Director General of ESMA, highlighted the importance of the cabinet’s decision in terms of the country’s constant development of its legislative structure, especially regarding the health and safety of the community. He added that this decision was built around the government’s understanding of the dangers and effects of vehicle emissions, especially those containing lead.
This decision is part of the country’s strategy to control pollution from car exhausts, as well as the necessity of shifting to unleaded fuels, which is considered a healthier and environmentally safer option, he added.
Al Maeeni explained that the UAE Cabinet has granted the relevant authorities, who are responsible for executing the decision numbered, “UAE. S 5018: 2017”, six months to ensure its implementation.
“We in the UAE, have a developed infrastructure that is capable of quickly responding to advances and development requirements, especially in terms of pumps, tanks, machines and others,” he said.
“Shifting to the use of unleaded fuel should eliminate harmful emissions. We are helping the community and the environment to avoid the dangers of emissions, resulting from the process of internal-combustion in engines where lead is turned into harmful derivatives or particles, which can spread in the air and are quickly absorbed by the human body while settling in the lungs, bones and other parts of the body, as well as the soil, affecting plants and groundwater,” Al Maeeni continued.
Al Maeeni highlighted international studies and reports that were conducted on children who live close to vehicle routes on general roads. The studies proved that the nervous systems of these children were affected by these emissions, which also affected their intelligence.
He also explained the relevant Emirati standard specification and its specialised characteristics and requirements, which should be available in unleaded gasoline to be used as fuel in the internal combustion engines of vehicles. He added that the UAE is always coordinating such specifications at a Gulf level.
“In 2011, we participated in issuing the Gulf Guide for Specifications and Characteristics of Unleaded Gasoline, and we are now developing this with international updates,” he concluded.
