It’s strange. Extensive investigations made under the auspices of the federal and state governments, technical societies and private research organizations, show beyond doubt that the lead additives in gasoline yield harmless emissions into the atmosphere. One recent study conducted jointly by the American Petroleum Institute and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found relatively higher concentrations of lead in the blood of people living in parts of the country where atmospheric lead levels were relatively low. There has been no way found to determine the effect of auto emission on the level of lead in humans.
Yet almost anyone will assure you that lead in gasoline is going to kill us all if we don’t take it out now. Auto manufacturers advertise that their cars run on unleaded gasoline. Refiners add pumps in gas stations and advertise “fuels of the future” with no lead. “Not enough,” cry environmentalists and journalists. President Nixon orders government cars to run on unleaded gasoline as a first step in cleaning up the air. Soon that wincing in the eyes, the funny feeling in the nostrils and throat will come to an end. The lead will come out of gasoline and everything will be okay.
Comments