The last stock of leaded gasoline is gone, the pollution remains

Lead pollution was a huge problem due to the great popularity of gasoline engines in the 20th century. Leaded additives to gasoline ensured more stable combustion in the engine, making it vibrate less, but in the meantime, exhausts around the world blasted toxic tetraethyl lead into the atmosphere. This led to widespread poisoning. Even nail biting was life threatening due to this type of contamination. Lead is deposited from the sky to the ground and accumulates under the nails by touch. For example, I ended up biting my nails more than once in the hospital with life-threatening poisoning.

More leukemia due to lead substitutes

In the 1980s, realization grew that there was an urgent need for an alternative: unleaded gasoline. However, the introduction of this was not immediately smooth. Gasoline producers argued that alternatives to lead, especially gasoline, led to a leukemia epidemic and stuck to products containing heavy metals. Later, gasoline was replaced by the less harmful MBTE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) and the transformation could really begin. In most European countries, leaded gasoline was completely discontinued in the 1990s.

Forever in the air

On Monday, it was announced that Algeria had run out of leaded gasoline. “This is a huge step for global health and our environment,” said Inger Andersen, the United Nations Environment Program’s highest-ranking woman. However, it is not entirely certain whether we will ever get rid of lead in the atmosphere. An American study conducted by the University of Wisconsin showed that lead can still be in the air for years. For example, twenty years after Prohibition in Great Britain, pollution still exists. “It descends like dust and is scattered over and over again,” the study said.

Lead poisoning can lead to serious cardiovascular disease or kidney problems. Cancer is also associated with heavy metals.