§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for the Enivironment what new measures his Department is taking to reduce the lead content in petrol; and what consideration has been given to encouraging the petroleum industry to use alcohol as an anti-knock agent.
§ Mr. HoramI have been asked to reply.
The Motor Fuel (Lead Content of Petrol) Regulations 1976 reduced the maximum permitted lead content of petrol from its previous level of 0.55 grammes per litre to 0.50 grammes per litre. This reduction was effective from the end of November 1976. The regulations also provide for a further reduction of 0.45 grammes per litre by 1978.
751WThe possibility of blending petrol with alcohol has been considered on a number of occasions. The report of a joint study by officials of the Department of Energy and representatives of industry—"Energy Paper No. 2: Methane derived alcohols: Their use as blending components of petrol"—published in 1975 suggests that there are significant economic and technical problems in using alcohols for this purpose.