THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF
LEAD IN PETROL
INTRODUCTION
The continued use of lead in petrol in Australia presents a serious environmental and human
health problem.1 Airborne lead, a by-product of the combustion of petrol containing tetraethyl
and tetramethyl lead is a highly toxic pollutant, affecting plants, animals and humans, having
particularly adverse consequences for the development of human embryos, foetus, newborn and
young children.2
In considering these issues, this essay reviews the rationale for the recent public policy changes
concerning lead in petrol and examines the constitutional, political, economic and social
influences and constraints that surround them.
LEAD IN THE ENVIRONMENT
Lead is now one of the most widely dispersed of environmental pollutants.3
Despite
environmental background lead levels generally being extremely low, people living in Australian
communities are exposed to lead sources virtually constantly.4
Although the sources of lead contamination are diverse, and include smelting and refining of
lead, scrap metal recovery, waste oil combustion, battery manufacture, plumbing, lead flashing,
soldered food cans, lead acid batteries, pesticides, fertilisers, and in particular, paint produced
prior to 1971, lead from automobile exhausts is the most pervasive. 5
The transport and distribution of lead from major emission sources are mainly through air.
Airborne lead derived from petrol combustion constitutes approximately 90% of the overall lead
emitted in Australian urban areas.6 Although most lead discharged into the air precipitates out
near its source, approximately 20% is widely dispersed. 7 In fact, studies have demonstrated that
lead levels in Greenland correlate with the use of alkyl-leaded petrol in the USA, Eurasia and
Canada.8 As the level of airborne lead is primarily a consequence of public consumption of
leaded petrol, while point source control is not irrelevant, is not the main issue.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
B Donaghy “The Trouble with Lead” (1994) The Open Road, June/July 1994 14.
M Chloe, “The problem of lead. Proposals for a new battle plan” Consuming Interest, Canberra, Health
Consumers Forum, April 1993 1.
J Bellini, High Tech Holocaust Richmond, Greenhouse Publications, 1987 120.
National Health & Medical Research Council Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia: (Final Report)
Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service, 1994 24.
Id 28.
Id 29.
D Greene “Effects of lead on the environment” Lead Action News, 1(2), 1993 10.
Rosman et al, “Isotopic Evidence for the Source of Lead in Greenland Snows Since the Late 1960”
(1993) Nature 362 333.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 1
LEAD IN PETROL
Tetraethyl lead and tetramethyl lead are added to petrol to increase the octane level of the fuel
and to prevent ‘knocking’ by limiting the predetonation of the combustion gases in modern high
compression automobile engines. Lead is also an effective valve lubricant, reducing the wear on
valve seats in some pre-1986 cars.
Tetraethyl lead was first introduced as a gasoline additive in the USA in 1923. 9 The dangers
associated with leaded petrol were apparent as early as 1924, when New York banned its
manufacture, sale and use, though this was reversed when the first President of Ethyl
Corporation convinced the US Surgeon General that the economic and military benefits of
tetraethyl lead ‘far outweighed the unsubstantiated health risks.’10 In contradiction to the now
more widely accepted ‘Precautionary Principle’11, the burden of proof was placed on those
concerned about the effects of lead in petrol. Production resumed in 1926, and subsequently,
between 1946 and 1978 the amount of lead used per vehicle mile in the USA rose by 80% as more
powerful and higher compression engines were introduced.12
LEAD IN PETROL IN AUSTRALIA
Unleaded petrol was released for sale in Australia in 1985, and since 1986, in accordance with
Australian Design Rule 37, as administered under the Federal Motor Vehicles Standard Act, all new
petrol fuelled cars have been required to run on unleaded petrol. 13
Even though, as Table 1 shows, the use of unleaded petrol increased steadily from 1985 onwards,
and lead emissions from petrol have declined in Australia since then, lead from petrol still
constitutes the largest urban lead source.14
TABLE 1
CONSUMPTION OF PETROL IN AUSTRALIA (MILLIONS OF LITRES)
YEAR LEADED SUPER UNLEADED PETROL
PREMIUM UNLEADED
TOTAL CONSUMPTION
1985
15,238
274
Unavailable
15,512
1986
15,090
912
Included in unleaded petrol
16,012
1987
14,318
1897
Included in unleaded petrol
16,215
9
10
11
12
13
14
B Commoner The Closing Circle, New York, Knopf, 1971 74.
E O’Brien “Ignore the Precautionary Principle at You Peril” (1993) 1(4) Lead Action News, 12.
The precautionary principle, as applied in the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment
(IGAE) states that, ‘where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of
full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent
environmental degradation’; M Young, “Combining Intergenerational Equity, The Precautionary
Principle and the Maintenance of Natural Capital” Proceedings of the Precautionary Principle Conference,,
Sydney, UNSW, 1993 11.
J Ponting A Green History Of The World, 1992 379.
P Standen ‘Taking the Lead out: Transcript of an address to the Media Seminar on the Introduction of unleaded
Petrol, 23 February 1984.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 108.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 2
1988
13,830
2869
75
16,774
1989
13,098
4046
95
17,239
1990
11,930
5120
98
17,148
1991
10,860
5920
102
16882
1992
10,234
6703
133
17070
Adapted from: NHMRC, 1993 Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, 33.
Vehicle lead emissions are indirectly regulated by the existence of statutory limits on petrol lead
content. Each State and Territory has its own requirements for permissible concentrations in lead
petrol15, which vary significantly between the States.16
TABLE 2
REGULATION OF LEAD IN PETROL BY STATE
EXISTING LEGISLATION
1993 MAXIMUM LEAD LEVELS17 1994 MAXIMUM LEAD LEVELS18
NSW metropolitan areas
0.4 grams/litre
0.3 grams/litre
NSW country areas
0.84 grams/litre
0.3 grams/litre
Queensland metro. areas
0.4 grams/litre
0.3
Queensland country areas
0.84 grams/litre
0.3
Northern Territory
0.84 grams/litre
0.4
South Australia
0.65 grams/litre
0.45 (average over 1994)
Western Australia
0.65 grams/litre
0.4
Tasmania
0.4 grams/litre
0.3
Australian Capital Territory 0.4 grams/litre
0.3
Victoria
0.25
0.3 grams/litre
Adapted from: NHMRC, 1993 Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, 32,
and Australian Institute of Petroleum, Media Release: Reduction in Lead, 30 December 1993, 2.
Prior to 1 January 1994, Australia permitted the highest level of lead in petrol amongst the OECD
countries.19 Anachronistically, ‘unleaded’ petrol contains lead, though the amount is limited by
statute by each State, typically, as in Victoria20 and NSW21, to a maximum of 0.013 g/l. While
leaded petrol accounted for 55% of petrol sales at the beginning of 1993 22, in March 1994
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
The NHMRC ambient air quality objective for lead in the air has been adopted by Victoria, Tasmania
and the ACT as the legal limit: National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 31.
J Grace “An overview of legislation controlling the retailing of petroleum within Australia” (1992) 19
Australian Business Law Review, 391.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 32.
Australian Institute of Petroleum Press Release: Reduction in Lead, 30 December 1993 2.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 110.
s 7(1), Victorian Environment Protection Act 1970, as amended 1993.
s21L(1) New South Wales Clean Air Act 1961, as amended 1992.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, ES 24.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 3
monthly unleaded petrol sales exceed leaded sales for the first time in Australia’s history. 23
THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF LEAD
THE EFFECT OF LEAD ON SOILS
Airborne lead accumulates in soils and may persist in the upper layers of the soil surface for up
to 20,000 years, continuing to migrate into the micro-organism and grazing food chains until
equilibrium is achieved.24
THE EFFECT OF LEAD ON TERRESTRIAL PLANTS AND MICRO-ORGANISMS
Terrestrial plants absorb lead from the soil and through their leaves, retaining the lead in their
roots.
Airborne lead can also clog plant stoma, hindering photosynthesis inducing stunted
growth or death of the plant, and may even effect plant population genetics at levels of that
experienced commonly at roadsides. Airborne lead can also have a significant impact on many of
the detritus micro-organisms that are an essential part of the decomposition food chain.25
THE EFFECT OF LEAD ON ANIMALS
Lead adversely affects the central nervous systems of animals and inhibits their ability to
synthesise erythrocytes.26 Blood lead levels of ≥40 µg/dl can produce observable clinical
symptoms in domestic animals27, whilst grazing animals are directly affected by the
consumption of forage and feed contaminated by airborne lead and indirectly by the uptake of
lead through plants.28
HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF LEAD
Airborne lead can effect humans directly by inhalation, or indirectly through the ingestion of
contaminated soil, dust, or plants.29 While the intake of lead in dust for rural children, away
from major lead sources such as smelters, has been estimated as approximately 100 times the
intake of lead from the air, it is probable that some 90% of the lead in dust originated in the air. 30
Tables 3, 4 and 5 provide data to show how the levels of airborne lead affect those for the soil
and dust in ‘major urban’, ‘other urban’ and ‘rural areas’ respectively. These tables also detail
the consequences of implementing different lead abatement strategies.
Lead can damage organs including the brain, the kidneys, and male and female reproductive
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Personal communication with Barbara Kernot, CEPA.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 22.
US EPA, 1986, cited in National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 22.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 23.
J Maddison “Lead Toxicity in Dogs and Cats” (1993) 1(4)Lead Action News 4.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 23.
Id 29.
Id 42.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 4
systems.31 There is growing evidence that these adverse health effects occur at lower levels of
lead exposure than previously considered to cause concern32, and that intellectual impairment
can be induced in young children with blood lead levels previously considered as safe.33
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) revised its Guidelines for Lead in
Australians in 1993, from a blood lead level of 30 µg/dl to the new goal of < 10 µg/dl, declaring
a ‘particular urgency in reaching this level in children aged one to four years because of the
adverse effects of lead exposure on intellectual development’. 34
According to current available data, as shown in Table 6 (overleaf), lowering the level of concern
to 10 µg/dl would classify between 26% and 53% of children aged 0-4 years in Australia as
having unacceptably high blood levels, while a level of concern of 15 µg/dl would classify
between 7% and 22% of children as having unacceptably high blood lead. 35
Table 7 below provides an indication of how the exposure rates for children aged 0-4 years
shown in Table 6 might change under condition of differing petrol lead levels and rates of
‘switching’ from leaded to unleaded fuels.
TABLE 7
ESTIMATED PERCENTAGE OF AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN a AGED 0-4 YEARS
WITH BLOOD LEAD LEVELS > 10 µG/DL IN 1993, 1996 AND 1998
LEAD CONTENT IN LEADED PETROL ANNUAL SWITCH
(GRAM/LITRE)
RATE TO ULP
1993
1996
1998
0.3 in 1997
5%
44.58
32.75
17.49
0.3 in 1995; 0.15 in 1997
5%
44.58
22.57
9.64
0.15 in 1995
5%
44.58
11.30
9.64
0.15 in 1995; 0.026 in 1997
5%
44.58
11.30
7.44
0.026 in 1995
5%
44.58
7.44
7.44
0.3 in 1995; 0.15 in 1997
10%
44.58
13.17
8.05
0.3 in 1997
10%
44.58
18.14
10.96
0.15 in 1995
7.5%
44.58
9.69
8.05
0.15 in 1995
10%
44.58
8.52
8.05
Adapted from: NHMRC, 1993 Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, 143.
a
This table is based on the sum of four major exposure groups: Major urban; Other Urban; Rural; and
Renovations. Calculations are based on the assumptions that 8% of houses are undergoing renovation, that
65% of houses have lead paint, that food intake = 15 µg lead/day, and that the average lead content of
water used by those groups is 10 µg/litre.
31
32
33
34
35
Id 13.
Id 5.
CEPA, Fact Sheet: Switching to unleaded petrol: Canberra: CEPA, 1994 1.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 2.
Id 1.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 5
Given the recent changes to petrol lead levels, and the transition of leaded petrol from 97 to 96
RON effective from 1 January 199436, Table 7 represents a realistic forecast of the proportions of
children likely to remain above the current ‘level of concern’.
Why this is so, and some of the reasons why affirmative regulative action on lead in petrol has
been a relatively recent phenomenon are found in the legal, political, economic and social factors
that have informed public policy on lead in petrol.
36
Australian Institute of Petroleum, Media Release: Reduction in Lead, 30 December 1993.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 6
THE LEADEN WHEELS OF GOVERNMENT
Despite Australia having been a leader in the science related to the health effects of lead, work on
the health effects of lead has not been matched by action in reducing lead in the environment. 37
The legislative framework for the regulation of lead in petrol is complex, involving a mixture of
Commonwealth and State laws and regulations. Our discussion begins with a consideration of
the Commonwealth’s power to enact binding legislation concerning the environment.
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES RELEVANT TO THE LEAD IN PETROL DEBATE
The Commonwealth Constitution confers no express legislative power on the Commonwealth
with respect to ‘the environment’ or ‘the protection of the environment’38, as the Commonwealth
has only those powers which the States ceded to it on Federation, or which has been
subsequently acquired by referendum.39
There are however, several heads of power that can be relied upon to ground Commonwealth
legislation concerning the environment. These are trade and commerce40, taxation41, bounties on
the production or export of goods42, foreign corporations and trading or financial corporations
formed within the limits of the Commonwealth43, external affairs44, customs45, excise46, the
granting financial assistance to any State47, and the territories.48 Of these heads of power, those
most relevant to the regulation of lead in petrol are the grants of power relating to trade and
commerce, taxation, corporations, excise, and the facility afforded by the external affairs power
in the event of the recognition of customary international law relating to lead pollution.
As, subject to certain limitations, inconsistent State laws shall be invalid to the extent of their
inconsistency with Commonwealth laws49, these heads of power have, especially in recent times,
afforded the Commonwealth great scope.
The fact that there is no specific Commonwealth power over the environment does not prevent
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 4.
Final Report of the Constitutional Commission, Vol 2, Canberra: AGPS, 1988 757.
J Grace “An overview of legislation controlling the retailing of petroleum within Australia” (1992) 19
Australian Business Law Review, 393.
Section 51(i)
Section 51(ii)
Section 51(iii)
Section 51(xx)
Section 51(xxix)
Section 90
Section 51(ii)
Section 96
Section 122
Section 122
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 7
the Commonwealth from legislating ‘with respect to’ one of the granted heads of power,
whatever the practical effect of that legislation may be.50 As each grant of power is interpreted
liberally, carrying with it the implication that all powers necessary to carry the granted power
into effect are also granted, a wide incidental power exists with respect to granted subject
matters.51
As the Murphyores judgement affirmed, an activity which constitutes the subject of a power may,
under that power, though subject to any express limitations in the Constitution, be prohibited or
allowed in accordance with any conditions or criteria.52 Similarly, the subsequent Tasmanian
Dams case declares ‘now well settled’ the principle that a law upon a subject matter of
Commonwealth power does note cease to be valid ‘because it can be characterised as a law upon
a topic outside power’.53
COMMONWEALTH USE OF TRADE AND COMMERCE AND CORPORATIONS POWERS
Given the Commonwealth’s inability to legislate directly on ‘the environment’, the history of
Commonwealth regulation of petrol is interesting. As wholesaling, transporting and retailing of
petrol in Australia is carried out exclusively by corporations, and is of a nature that would be
characterised as interstate trade54 that could be subject to the control of trading activities55, the
Commonwealth has clear authority to use its trade and commerce and corporations power.
Which is indeed what it has done.
Commonwealth legislative intervention in petroleum retailing first occurred in 1940, when petrol
rationing was introduced as a wartime defence measure. The Commonwealth subsequently
assumed monopoly control of the petroleum retail market by introducing a pool arrangement
under the National Security (Petroleum Products Distribution) Regulations in 1942. The National
Security (Rationing) Regulations 1950 saw rationing cease, with the Commonwealth vacating the
field in favour of the States.56 Commonwealth intervention in petrol retailing was invigorated by
a 1973 Royal Commission on Petroleum and the subsequent Prices Justification Act 1973 and Trade
Practices Act 1974. These were followed by the Petroleum Retail Marketing Franchise Act 1980, and
the Petroleum Retail Marketing Sites Act 1980.
Through a complex interaction between the above Acts, a mechanism called ‘rack pricing’
operates to limit wholesale price fluctuation.57 This has allowed the Commonwealth to use
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
Murphyores Incorporated Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1976) 136 CLR 1
J Crawford ‘The Constitution and the Environment’ (1991) 13 Syd. L.R. 11.
L Zines The High Court and the Constitution, 1992 26.
Ibid.
Australian National Airways Pty Ltd v Commonwealth (1945) 71 CLR 29
Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd (1971) 124 CLR 468
J Grace op cit, 392.
Id 399.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 8
economic incentives to encourage the use of unleaded petrol through its use of the excise power.
THE USE OF EXCISE AS AN ECONOMIC INCENTIVE TO REDUCE LEAD IN PETROL
The head of power of greatest relevance to Commonwealth regulation of lead in petrol is the
taxation power58 read in conjunction with the excise power.59 The power to impose and collect
excise afforded by s51(ii) is exclusively vested in the Commonwealth to the exclusion of the
States by s90 of the Constitution.60
Excise is characterised as a tax on the
manufacture of goods down to the point of receipt by a
consumer.61
production or
Excise on crude oil and
petroleum products is imposed by the Commonwealth under the Excise Tariff Act 1921.
The 1993/4 Budget announced a staged increase in fuel excise inducing a 5 ¢/l differential
between unleaded and leaded fuel62, as part of a 10¢/l real increase in leaded petrol excise.63
This was rejected in the Senate and was negotiated to take the form of a price differential of 2 ¢/l
between the excise on unleaded versus leaded petrol, with a 1 ¢/l differential having come into
effect in February 1994, and the second 1¢/l differential due to take effect on 1 August 1994.64
As a result of the mechanisms employed under other heads of power described above, and the
market forces retailers are generally subject to, CEPA notes that the excise differential levied on
the wholesale petrol price has been reflected consistently in retail prices.65
THE COMMONWEALTH EXTERNAL AFFAIRS POWER AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
No international treaty or convention currently exists specifically concerning airborne lead
pollution. Very recent developments suggest, however, that international sentiment in this area
is growing.66
The USA and Japan having abolished lead in petrol entirely, and others such as
New Zealand planning to abolish it by 1996.67
Following the 1993 publication of the OECD Lead Risk Reduction Monograph, strong support
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Section 51(ii)
Section 90
Hematite Petroleum Pty Ltd v Victoria (the Pipelines Case) (1983) 151 CLR 599
J Grace op cit, 393.
J Dawkins Budget Statements 1993-94; Budget Paper No. 1, 1993 4.15.
R J Fowler “Paper presented to the Australian Centre for Environmental Outlook Conference:
Addressing the brown issues - Recent trends and developments in environment protection law and
policy in Australia” (1993) Australian Centre for Environmental Law, 4.
R Kelly Media Release: Budget Support for Lead Abatement and Ethanol Fuels, (1993) 3.
Personal communication with Barbara Kernot, CEPA Lead Abatement Officer, May 13 1994.
Ibid.
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 110.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 9
has gathered for immediate development of an OECD Council Act on lead. 68 If increasing
international activity results in an international instrument, or as under Article 38(1) of the ICJ
Statute, international custom relating to lead abatement is applied as ‘evidence of a general
practice accepted as law’, lead abatement measures, particularly those relating to transboundary
pollution as per the Trail Smelter arbitration69, may well assume the character of customary
international law.
In the event that lead abatement becomes established as customary international law, Murphy
and Deane JJ expressly declared in Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen70 that the Commonwealth has the
power under s51(xxix), the external affairs power, to give effect to the recommendations of
international bodies.71 Therefore, whilst not currently available as a grant of power to found
legislation concerning lead in petrol, subject to customary international environmental law and
State practice, s51(xxix) may be so in the future.
POLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE REGULATION OF LEAD IN PETROL
As discussed above, the Commonwealth has available a variety of grants of power concerning
the regulation of petrol. Why was it then that the Commonwealth did not to use those powers to
limit the consumption of leaded fuel until very recently?
The answer is found largely in the nature and application of cooperative federalism. In the
absence of unequivocal scientific evidence, strong community demand and acquiescence from
industry, governments had been loathe to introduce strong legislation concerning lead in petrol.
The motor vehicle emission control program began in Australia in 1972, with more stringent
standards having been progressively introduced subsequently.72
The major policy change
relating to unleaded petrol use was the introduction of ADR 37, which required that all new cars
sold after 1896 use unleaded petrol.
Interestingly, the motivation for this was not directly
attributable to the dangers inherent in using lead, but that lead would coat the platinum coated
ceramic spheres used in catalytic converters, whose primary function was to reduce the levels of
NOx’s and SOx’s in exhaust.
The current Australian Government policy initiatives were stimulated by the OECD Risk
68
69
70
71
72
OECD Environmental Health and Safety Division, Invitation to Workshop and Working Group Meeting on
Lead Risk Reduction, Preparation of Papers, and Solicitation of Comments on Related Documents, Paris, 18
March 1994.
335 AJIL (1941) 684
(1982) 153 CLR 168
L Zines op cit, 245.
P Standen “Taking the Lead out: Transcript of an address to the Media Seminar on the Introduction of
unleaded Petrol” 23 February 1984.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 10
Reduction Monograph process, which chose lead as its first priority. 73 The OECD Monograph
required the Australian Government to detail their lead risk minimisation policies. The then
Minister for Environment, Ros Kelly, subsequently identified lead in petrol as an issue due
attention74, prompting the government to sharpen their focus on the problem75, as evidenced by
Mrs. Kelly’s March 1993 election commitment to reduce lead in petrol. 76 In short, ‘the OECD
document had made lead in petrol politically fashionable.’77
CO-OPERATIVE FEDERALISM
The chain of events that followed provides a superb example of the machinations of co-operative
federalism. Co-operative federalism has been expressed in the environment area largely through
the DEST78, and its predecessors exercising a largely policy coordinating role formalised through
Ministerial Councils79
Some subsequent key events included ANZECC’s May 1993 decision to develop a national
strategy to reduce exposure to lead. This was followed by the NHMRC’s June announcement
that it had revised its lead in blood guidelines down to 10 µg/dl and called for an immediate
national education and environmental management strategy especially for lead in petrol.80
In July 1993 a Roundtable Conference on Lead in Petrol was held, attended by Commonwealth
and State ministers, and a wide range of national groups from industry, unions and the
community. In October 1993, ANZECC endorsed the direction of the Roundtable Conference on
Lead in Petrol and the progress with development of the national lead education campaign. 81
The agreements reached at the Roundtable Conference on Lead in Petrol which have been acted
upon include;
•
The leaded/unleaded petrol price differential as discussed above.
•
A reduction of lead in leaded petrol to 0.2 g/l at 96 RON by the end of 1994 in Victoria and
NSW and by the end of 1995 in the other States.82
•
An assessment of the effects of lowering the octane rating and the provision of $29 million to
accelerate the market penetration and acceptance of motor fuels blended with ethanol. 83
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
OECD, Risk Reduction Monograph No. 1: LEAD - Background and National Experience with Reducing Risk,
1993 9.
Personal communication with Barbara Kernot, CEPA Lead Abatement Officer, May 13 1994.
Ibid.
A Cummine “Report to the first meeting of the working party of government” (1993) 1(4)Lead Action
News, 3.
Personal communication John Stone, Conservation Council of Victoria Transport Campaign
Coordinator, May 20 1994.
The Commonwealth Department of Arts, Sport, Environment and Territories.
G M Bates Environmental Law in Australia, 1992 67
A Cummine, Op cit, 3.
Ibid
Ibid
R Kelly Media Release: Budget Support for Lead Abatement and Ethanol Fuels, 1993 2.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 11
•
The implementation of a national blood lead level survey to improve knowledge of the
extent of the problem and to evaluate the effectiveness of other measures.84
•
$2 million funding of investigations of the use of other refinery additives as substitutes for
lead in petrol, and for the development of a national environmental standard for petrol. 85
•
$4 million for a national lead abatement education campaign to inform the public about lead
issues, and to encourage the switch to unleaded fuel.86
•
The changing of the name of ‘super’ petrol to ‘leaded’ petrol.87
•
Use of ‘educator kits’, leaflets and television advertisements featuring Gary Sweet, urging
motorists to change to using unleaded fuel wherever possible, as part of the National Lead
Education Campaign that began 1 February 1994. 88 CEPA reports that the campaign, which
achieved 95% market penetration, was a ‘roaring success’, reflected in the monthly average
unleaded petrol sales having exceeded leaded petrol sales for the first time. 89
•
The development of a National Lead Abatement Strategy under the auspices of ANZECC. 90
•
The establishment of a Lead Abatement Task Force to coordinate and administer the above
processes.91
The most noticeable omission from this list is the setting of a date for the total phase-out of lead
in petrol, a measure that many community and environmental groups argued strongly for. 92
THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS INFLUENCING LEAD POLICY
As for all environmental and public health issues, the imperatives informing public policy are
invariably eclectic and difficult to apportion. It is nevertheless useful to identify those influences
and to analyse their logic.
Recent Australian public policy concerning lead in petrol, as described above, appears on the
whole to be a relatively successful excellent example of the ‘mixed system’ of environment
protection of information, facilitation, regulation and incentives as described by Barker.93 While
critics such as John Stone would argue that this is a natural consequence of a corporatist and
consensual approach to lead abatement, which inevitably allows compromise to ‘win the day’,
the current activity on lead abatement in Australia appears to be at the most vigorous it has been
for some time.
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
A Cummine “Report to the first meeting of the working party of government” (1993) 1(4)Lead Action
News 3.
R Kelly Op cit, 3.
H Beauchamp “Two Cheers for the Roundtable Conference on Lead in Petrol’ (1993) 1(3)Lead Action
News 3
A Cummine, Op cit, 4.
R Kelly Media Release: Commonwealth Lead Education Campaign, 1994 1.
Personal Communication with CEPA Research Officer Barbara Kernot, 13 May
A Cummine, Op cit, 4.
Ibid.
J Stone “Lead in petrol: Exactly what price do we set on our children’s intelligence?” (1993) 106
Environment Victoria, 3.
M Barker “Environmental Quality Control: Regulation or Incentives?” (1984) 1 E.P.L.J. 230.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 12
Nevertheless, as for many public policy programs, the actual and opportunity costs of
environmental protection strategies provide the underlying basis for the current policy
approaches. As Tables 8 and 9 show, a cost-benefit analysis of various lead abatement strategies
involving petrol lead levels and switching rates show that the reduction of the leaded octane
rating from 97 to 96, as was done by 1 January 1994, represents the most cost-effective method.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 13
TABLE 8 COSTS AND CHILD HEALTH BENEFITS OF PETROL LEAD ABATEMENT
Petrol lead
level (1994)
Octane
0.3
0.3
0.15
0.026
0.3
0.3
0.15
No change
No change
No change
97
96
97
97
97
96
97
97
97
97
Switching % of children
with blood lead
levels > 10 µg/dl
1996
1998
nil
22.57
17.49
nil
22.47
17.49
nil
11.30
9.64
nil
7.44
7.44
A
18.14
10.96
A
18.14
10.96
A
9.69
8.05
A
18.66
14.35
B
#
#
C
#
#
Net
benefit
($mil)
Gross
benefit
($mil)
508
615
1101
-7309
1500
1566
1416
1183
1151
1032
624
624
2073
2587
1584
1584
2334
1183
1462
1631
Gross
cost
($mil)
116
9
972
9896
84
19
918
nil
311
599
Benefit
cost
ratio
5.4
69.0
2.1
0.26
19.0
83.0
2.5
∞
4.7
2.7
Adapted from: NHMRC, 1993 Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, 148.
TABLE 9 COSTS AND TOTAL POPULATION HEALTH BENEFITS OF PETROL LEAD ABATEMENT
Petrol lead
level (1994)
Octane
0.3
0.3
0.15
0.026
0.3
0.3
0.15
No change
No change
No change
97
96
97
97
97
96
97
97
97
97
Switching % of children
with blood lead
levels > 10 µg/dl
1996
1998
nil
22.57
17.49
nil
22.47
17.49
nil
11.30
9.64
nil
7.44
7.44
A
18.14
10.96
A
18.14
10.96
A
9.69
8.05
A
18.66
14.35
B
#
#
C
#
#
Net
benefit
($mil)
Gross
benefit
($mil)
1269
1376
3896
-3535
3719
3784
4763
2912
3256
3436
1385
1385
4868
6361
3803
3803
5681
2912
3567
4035
Gross
cost
($mil)
Benefit
cost
ratio
116
9
972
9896
84
19
918
nil
311
599
12.0
154.0
5.0
0.6
45.0
200.0
6.0
∞
11.5
6.7
Adapted from: NHMRC, 1993 Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, 148.
Contingent accounting has also been used by economists have attempted to examine whether,
and to what extent, society is prepared to meet the costs associated with reducing the blood lead
levels.94
As is arguably always a consideration in formulating and implementing public policy, strategies
based on empirical evidence are tempered by funding limitations. Butler describes this saying,
“The decision on the level of concern could be allowed to rest on medical criteria, were it not for
the fact that reducing the level for concern is likely to have important economic considerations
reducing the level of concern will require costs to be incurred.” 95 This is an argument revisited
from the early debates concerning lead exposure for those employed in the lead industry. 96
94
95
96
J R G Butler “Issues in Conducting cost-benefit analysis of lead abatement strategies” (1994) NCEPH
Working Paper 13, Canberra: NCEPH 13.
J R G Butler op cit 1.
Id 13.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 14
Economic rationalist arguments risk being dangerously inhumane if viewed in isolation. The
NHMRC report ‘Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia’ says, “It should be stressed that even if a
particular action has a negative net social benefit; ie, total costs exceed total benefits, a society
may choose to undertake it on the grounds of equity, civil or human rights … [as] such
arguments are used to justify the treatment of very expensive medical treatment of the terminally
ill.”97
Although economists have long been concerned with the problem of estimating individual
willingness to pay, this is difficult to ascertain particularly in non-market decision making, such
as can apply in environmental issues. Butler suggests contingent value survey-based assessment
tools, such as that which proved instrumental in the Commonwealth government decision to
disallow mining at Coronation Hill.98
THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
Political, economic, social and ethical decisions need to be made in the context of the risk and
trade off concerning each policy proposal. The notions of risk, uncertainty, ignorance, and
indeterminacy have contributed greatly to our recognition of the complexity surrounding the
lead debate, and as reflected in the OECD and NHMRC documents, are essential components of
informing decisions in the absence of scientific certainty. This has partly resulted from the
scientific burden of proof having been subject to increasing conflict in recent years 99, particularly
concerning the recognition and interpretation of uncertainty in government policy making.100
Applied to policy, the precautionary principle stipulates that where the environmental risks
being run by regulatory inaction are in some way uncertain, but non-negligible, regulatory action
is justified.101
As the evidence above demonstrates, the environmental and public health
consequences of continued lead exposure certainly satisfy this requirement.
INEQUITIES ASSOCIATED WITH LEAD IN PETROL
The negative effects of airborne lead pollution are distributed highly unevenly in society102,
having the consequence that those who benefit from the production of hazards naturally try to
play them down.103 A more fundamental implication is that ecological problems such as lead
pollution cannot be dissociated from social relations. As in nearly all instances of air pollution,
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
National Health & Medical Research Council op cit, 149
Resource Assessment Commission 1991, cited in J R G Butler op cit, 1.
B Wynne “Uncertainty and Environmental Learning: Reconceiving Science and Policy in the
Preventive Paradigm” (1992) 2(2)Global Environmental Change: Human and Policy Dimensions 111-127.
B Wynne and S Mayer “How science fails the environment” (1993)New Scientist, 138(1876), 1993 33-35.
J Cameron “The Precautionary Principle - Core Meaning, Constitutional Framework and Procedures
for Implementation” Proceedings of the Precautionary Principle Conference, (September 1993), Sydney:
New South Wales Institute of Environmental Studies, 6.
Y Haila and R Levins Ecology, Science and Society 1993 226-7
Y Haila and R Levins op cit, 227.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 15
the poor, the children, the aged and the infirm bear the costs most heavily. Environmental
problems such as lead pollution destroys social progress.104
The imposition of taxes implies that people will switch to less polluting methods of transport
such as public transport or unleaded petrol cars. Low income earners with older cars will face
higher prices, as many are likely to lack the means to purchase a more modern car.
Similarly, people living on the urban fringe may travel longer distances and have limited access
to public transport. The imposition of taxes will adversely affect the group most unable to alter
their behaviour to avoid the higher costs. Compensatory mechanisms are required to counteract
these equity problems.105
COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF LEAD ISSUES
Information disclosure is necessary for community participation in policy formation and law
making.
While Australia does not have ‘Community Right to Know’ legislation there is
community interest in the area, particularly amongst the ‘Lead Group’ and ‘Lead Action’
community groups.
The Government is committed to establishing a National Pollution
Inventory that will be publicly available.106 The former Senator, Janet Powell introduced a Toxic
Chemicals (Community Right to Know) Bill 1993.107 The ability of the public and community
groups to lobby politicians and influence policy would be greatly improved through the advent
of such legislation.
As mentioned earlier, the 1993/94 Budget Bill originally proposed an increase of 10¢/l for leaded
petrol108, which was much larger than had been discussed at the Lead Summit. The Democrats
estimated that the proposal would not only generate $790 million in revenue in the first year, but
would simply used to contribute to consolidated revenue.109 This proposal excited a public
dissatisfaction and political comment, with criticism largely directed at the policy’s failure to
incorporate economic and environmental equity goals to avoid significant additional costs on
vulnerable segments of the population.
In accord with the principle that inequity of exposure is often found to be compounded by the
inequitable distribution of the costs of mitigation of hazards110, those people with low incomes
and pre-1986 leaded petrol cars would have faced higher petrol prices as well as being unable to
afford a newer car. As a result of the tax the poor both ‘create more environmental degradation
than the more affluent segments of the population and suffer a lower quality of life having access
104
B Commoner op cit, 79
105 J Falk et al Social Equity and the Environment Report to the CEPA Canberra: CEPA 1993 1
106 T Gordon “Why the Need for Community-Right-To-Know” (1993) Lead Action News 1(4) 13.
107
108
109
110
R Fowler op cit, 9.
J Dawkins Budget Paper No. 1: Budget Statements 1993-94, Canberra: AGPS, 1993 4.16.
R Fowler op cit, 4.
W C Bogard, Bringing Social Theory to Hazards Research: Conditions and Consequences of the
Mitigation of Environmental hazards” (1988) 31(2) Sociological Perspectives, 152.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 16
to even less disposal income after the payment of tax’.111
Two proposals noticeably absent from the list of achievements following the Lead Roundtable
would help to address some of these inequities. These are the modification of existing motors,
and provision for government subsidies to contribute to the purchase of unleaded engine
vehicles. The first proposal is widely considered as not cost effective, though the reasons for
rejecting the second proposal are less evident.
In a USA pilot scheme known as ‘Cash for Clunkers’, 8,376 pre-1971 vehicles, which had been
responsible for 6,000 tonnes of pollutants annually; the equivalent of 720 kg of pollutant a year
per car, were decommissioned The pilot scheme was considered to be cost effective and the
project is to be expanded across the USA.112
It is our belief, that while there is a gradual reduction in the amount of airborne lead as unleaded
petrol increasingly replaces leaded petrol sales, the Government has an opportunity through the
increased fuel levy, and an obligation based on the need to address equity issues, to remove lead
from petrol at the greater rate that the urgency of the environmental and public health issues
require.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Australia has only recently begun to seriously combat the serious environmental
and public health problems induced by lead in petrol. The use of co-operative mechanisms
between the States and Commonwealth, such as evidenced by the Roundtable Conference on
Lead have greatly assisted the initiation of Australia’s transition from one of the most heavily
airborne lead polluting country in the OECD, to one that is well on the way to tackling the lead in
petrol issue with the vigour and resolve it deserves. That more should and could be done, and at
a faster rate, may be a matter of perspective, but it is one that we share.
111
112
J Falk et al, op cit, 15.
E O’Brien, The Lead Group Facts Sheet, Sydney: Lead Action Group, 1992 1.
Lead in Petrol / Georgina Carter and David Risstrom / Page 17