UN: Leaded petrol eradicated globally in 'huge milestone'

Leaded petrol has been eliminated after the world's last remaining stocks were used up last month, the UN's Environment Programme (UNEP) said, after heading a 19-year campaign to end use of the poisonous substance that poses major health and environment risks.

Algeria halted the sale of leaded petrol last month, prompting the UN Environment Agency to declare the “official end” of its use in cars on Monday.

UNEP worked with governments, businesses and civic groups to eradicate leaded petrol and said ending its use after a century marked a "huge milestone".

"Leaded fuel illustrates in a nutshell the kind of mistakes humanity has been making at every level of our societies," Inger Anderson, UNEP executive director, told journalists.

Those mistakes had driven climate change, pollution and a loss of biodiversity, she said, but the global response to lead in fuel shows that "humanity can learn from and fix mistakes that we've made".

Health risks

Petroleum containing tetraethyllead, a form of lead, was first sold almost 100 years ago to increase engine performance. It was widely used for decades until researchers discovered that it could cause heart disease, strokes and brain damage.

UNEP cited studies suggesting that leaded petrol caused measurable intellectual impairment in children and millions of premature deaths.

Most rich nations started phasing out the fuel in the 1980s but it was still widely used in low- and middle-income countries until 2002, when the UN launched a global campaign to abolish it.

Poisonous lead is still used in aviation fuel for small planes.

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