Reports are talking about the International Fuel Quality Center’s (IFQC) recent ranking if the top 100 countries in regards to benzene content standards in their gasoline. According to these reports, Colombia ranked number one with the lowest benzene limits and earliest implementation of any benzene related-laws. Canada was ranked at second place while Luxembourg came in third.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified the chemical known as benzene as being a Group A, known human carcinogen. This toxic solvent has been found to cause various illness to the bone marrow and bloodstream, and is most notable responsible for causing leukemia among those exposed. It can be found in naturally crude oil and is also used as an additive in certain dyes, for the production of synthetic rubbers and in cigarettes. Officials for the EPA say that controlling the amount of benzene in gasoline is the most effective way to limit its emissions from vehicles.
"The current global trend is to reduce benzene content in gasoline, as it’s also seen as the most effective way to reduce human exposure to the chemical," explains Lisa Kiuru, executive director, IFQC.
How Do Most Countries Rank?
The rankings show that a majority of the countries throughout the world don’t have any individual specifications for gasoline and low level gasoline-ethanol blends, like Colombia.
European countries reportedly topped the ranking, along with many Asian countries, including Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, which was tied at 18th with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
The U.S. is ranked at 67th place, due to the fact that these rankings are based upon national maximum allowance standards and U.S. standards were last updated in 1997. Researchers did note though, that the state of California could have ranked first if it was its own country because its gasoline benzene limit is 0.7 vol%.
The complete ranking the top 100 countries by gasoline benzene content standards can be found on the IFQC’s web site.
Tags: "Benzene Exposure" benzene leukemia cancer IFQC, IFQC, Information-News